


What Cannot Be Replicated

by alyssakay347



Category: Orphan Black (TV), Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Orphan Black Fusion, Angst, Clones, Excited Scientist Hanji, Family Feels, Levi channels his inner Matt Murdock, M/M, More Clones, Plotty, Slow Build, female Hanji
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-09
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-06-07 11:57:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 32,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6802810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alyssakay347/pseuds/alyssakay347
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It hasn't even been a year since Levi reunited with his daughter and life already wants to throw him down the crapshoot again. Luckily, Levi has allies willing to help, and one in particular who he comes to trust more than he thought he could trust anyone. But there's only so much they can do to fight one of the biggest corporations in the country. </p><p>(No familiarity with Daredevil or Orphan Black needed.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Levi hadn’t felt so out of his depth since the woman from Social Services said goodbye, leaving him with a daughter he hadn’t seen since she was barely weeks old. 

For the first time, Hanji had finally managed to get all the known clones in one place. It was definitely among the stranger experiences of Levi’s life, sitting around copies of himself. When this whole ordeal started, Levi tried not to keep track of just how many there were for his own sanity, but he realized soon enough that _not_ keeping track was an even faster route to losing his mind. 

Why did it have to be the grad clone’s apartment? How did some kid who went to one of the most expensive universities in the state afford an apartment larger than a bathroom? Where were the empty pizza boxes and dirty clothes that were supposed to be a landmark for frat boys? Was Daniel even in a frat, or was that just for undergrads? Levi didn’t have much of a clue about these things, or about anything college kids did…

Levi reminded himself that he and Daniel Waverley were the exact same age. He wasn’t sure whether to feel contempt or shame that they were clones. Contempt won out: even the name _Waverley_ was preppy. It was slightly sickening to see his own self have such an irritatingly stable and intelligent personality.

The loft-style apartment was probably pretty average by the standards of all the other clones and friends lingering around, but anyone who had ever known poverty could tell this guy had it more than made. From his spot on the couch, Levi glanced at the crowd around Daniel’s expensive 27-inch computer display. Hanji was sitting in front of the keyboard chattering away over his shoulder. Her husband, Zachary, stood behind her—the middle-class businessman clone,as Levi labeled him, considering his brown and neatly combed prudish haircut. Despite the haircut and second-rate tie, he had the balls to raise two adopted kids with Hanji, so Levi respected him well enough.

On Daniel Waverley’s other side was Cameron Hall, the starving-artist clone without the starving. His long hair was in a bun that somehow managed not to look horrific. Levi wondered how he got the ends so badly frayed—were they dyed _extra_ black? What was the point of that? Then again, Mikasa pulled on Levi’s bangs enough for him to rethink the point of an undercut. Shaving his whole head would be so much more simple, wouldn’t it? 

And then, the only one giving Daniel two inches of breathing room, the only other non-clone in the room besides clone-crazed Dr. Hanji Zoe, was Erwin Smith. He apparently graduated from Princeton with Daniel and begun working with Zoe around the same time Daniel started graduate school. Levi had yet to discern if they were dating or not. Erwin was tall, blonde, and handsome enough for anyone to want to date, and Daniel certainly looked at him in gooey ways sometimes, but if they were together, it was a secret neither was willing to share. 

Levi didn’t care what the hell any of the other clones did with their lives, as long as it didn’t interfere too much with his. His bank account, however, and Hanji’s offer to pay him for participating in her experiments, didn’t leave him with much of a choice. He just hadn’t expected the process to be so…interpersonal. 

Erwin met his eyes and Levi looked away quickly. The view out Daniel’s tall windows was of a small city park. Expensive, Levi thought automatically. 

“How long do ya think this’ll take?” the rehab clone asked. Levi turned to look at the atrocity sprawled on the other side of the L-shaped couch. The clone that had gotten him into this whole mess: Wayne Valentine. Cropped hair, blood-red enough to be black again, piercings everywhere. His clothing style was so different from Zack’s constipated one that Levi often forgot they were clones at all. Hopefully, the others would feel the same way about rehab clone and himself, but he doubted he was so lucky. To the privileged, weren’t all undereducated guys in cheap clothes the same? 

At least Levi hadn’t fallen so low as to tattoo his wrist with the name of some girlfriend. Wayne had caught him looking at it the first time he, Levi, and Hanji sat in a room together. “Broke up with me two weeks after I got this,” Wayne had said, although Levi definitely hadn’t asked, “but I figured I might meet someone with the same name. Ashley’s pretty popular.” 

Wayne admired it now, in the loft, not really looking for an answer to his own question. 

But Levi answered anyway. “About as long as you were with your last girlfriend, I’m guessing.” 

Wayne snorted through the unlit cigarette in his mouth, “Fuck, I hope not. You and the rest of these…well, you’re all creepin’ me out. I wanna get out of here, but…”

“Need the cash?” Levi asked. He felt an aversion just talking to this guy, but if he sat in silence any longer while the smart people conspired by the computer, he was going to scream. 

“Savin’ for a drum set for my little brother. We’re in a band, did I tell you that?” 

Levi sighed and said under his breath, “Only fifty times or so.”

“It’s my living, and it ain’t so bad, really.” Wayne grinned, “My little brother and sister are the stars, though.” 

Levi turned to look at him properly. He still wasn’t used to the clone’s northeastern dialect. “They can’t be your real—”

“No,” Wayne cut in, grin gone in a blink, “But they’re good enough to be. I raised ‘em myself.” He exhaled as if he were really smoking. “But fuck if takin’ care of ‘em ain’t expensive as all hell.” Wayne chucked. The way he shook his head reminded Levi of Zack, of himself, the rest of the clones, and he felt nauseous. Would he ever get used to seeing himself like this, as different people that weren’t just his twins but…?

“Clones!” Hanji cried out suddenly, but no one so much as twitched. Levi was sure everyone had figured out by now that it was essentially her reaction to anything now. Or maybe her catchphrase. She turned around, smile on her face, and only then did Levi realize that she was addressing them. “I have another test in mind!” 

Hopefully this time it wouldn’t involve needles, Levi thought. 

  


><><><

  


Three Weeks Earlier 

It was supposed to be a good night. He had just gotten a raise as the Good Foods Grocery late-shift manager, so he could pay his babysitter extra on his day off and stay out late without guilt. He went to a bar he always made himself stay away from, one that had a reputation for being pricy, and enjoyed the live band. He planned to leave as soon as the music was over, but the bartender gave him so many strange looks that he decided to head out early. 

The band was between songs, tweaking their instruments, talking with the crowd, drinking more than was probably wise. He passed them on his way to the door when the drummer came up to him and grabbed his shoulder. He was clearly wasted. 

“Wayne fucking Valentine. You fucker! You think I’m stupid enough to let you get away with what you fucking did to my drums?” Then he threw a punch Levi wasn’t ready for. 

The crowd grew quiet, but but only for a moment. The volume rose to a new height when the other band members closed in—the guitarist yelled at Levi, the singer yelled at the drummer, and the bassist got between them all and Levi, even though Levi was too sober to think about fighting back. But he was buzzed enough to be furious. He held his hands up and backed away, trying to repress his urge to yell back that he didn’t know who the fuck this Wayne guy was, to get out of his way, to grow up and go waste someone else’s time. But it was too loud for anyone to hear anything. The blood rushing in his ears was too loud. 

The drummer managed to raise his hand again, but Levi dodged the second drunken punch. The guitarist made a quip about his height. The bassist, unthinkingly, thought he would make things better by saying, “Then find someone your own size, Rick.” Levi was on the verge of making someone “accidentally” trip and crack their skull, when someone else decided to butt in.

“Lenny, who the fuck are you screaming at? I knew you were fuckin’ blind. Who’re you—” 

Levi met the eyes of someone with his exact face. Same eyes, same stature, like a twin except for the shorter hair and possible gang tattoos. 

“What the hell…” they both said. 

The drummer recoiled and and stared at them, eyes blown wide. “Wayne fucking Valentine,” he said, and lunged for the other man like Levi didn’t exist anymore. The rest of the band just looked at a loss.

While Levi’s twin was also drunk, he was faster. He hit the drummer right in the nose, and blood flew. “That’s for my friends, you piece of shit!” With the sound the drummer made when he hit the floor, Levi wondered if he got the cracked skull he wanted after all. 

“You’re Valentine,” said the guitarist slowly, pointing. 

“No shit,” said Valentine, wiping off his hand and staring at the man passed out on the ground. But his eyes met Levi’s again and showed uncertainty. 

“Then who are you?” asked the singer.

“Not him,” Levi deadpanned. He glanced around for the exit, but his gaze found security instead. At first glance, they didn’t like the brightest bulbs and Levi knew he was in for an even longer night than he planned. 

  


By the time he got to his tiny townhouse on the rougher side of town, Levi wasn’t so much ready to punch a wall as he was ready to sleep against one. Even though Wayne Valentine was the one with blood spattered on his face, the bar security apparently had nothing better to do than hold Levi up too. 

The babysitter Levi had hired, a seventeen year old indian girl, wasn’t too peeved since he gave her a heads up, then twenty bucks on top of her usual fee when she left. The moment the door closed behind her, he looked at the digital clock on the microwave. 

“Shit.” He skipped ahead in his usual routine to check on Mikasa—sound asleep—then fell in bed himself with his shoes on. 

The next morning, he was woken up by his phone. Levi jerked up in bed and checked his worthless alarm. Late. Mikasa’s bus would be here…three minutes ago. He flung himself out of bed and into the next room. Mikasa wasn’t there, but her bed was made, albeit poorly. He ran downstairs and found her waiting at the door, hair brushed, red skirt, Mickey Mouse backpack and all. Levi felt a rush of relief accompanied by his heart ripping in shreds—again. 

“Hey, I’m sorry. My alarm didn’t go off…” Would she even understand what that excuse meant? What kinds of things did six-year-olds know? 

“You can drive me, right?” Mikasa asked, chewing on her pretty black hair. 

“Yeah, of course,” Levi said, already heading for his keys. “Let’s go, Mickey. We’ll beat your bus to school.” 

“Okay.” 

Levi congratulated himself for knowing the fastest way to her kindergarten, but then returned to hating himself when his daughter asked, “Did you sleep in that?” 

He just kept his eyes on the road and replied, “I was so tired, I even forgot to take off my shoes.” Mikasa laughed, and Levi tried to smile. 

The drive wasn’t long, and even in his shitty old Corolla, he made it before Bus 0912. Mikasa unbuckled herself from the booster seat. Levi hesitated, unsure whether to go around and help her—

“I got it, daddy,” she said, already opening the back door and grabbing her backpack. She waved and he didn’t wave back until she slammed the door shut with all the might of a teenager. 

He drove home with his window down. He didn’t turn the radio on like he usually did. Mikasa wasn’t mad at him, was she? Surely she couldn’t be passive aggressive at such a young age. She called him “daddy” though, which meant something, didn’t it? 

Levi got home again and found he wasn’t any less exhausted than he was last night. For the first time since he got Mikasa, he was glad he had the late-shift. 

  


><><><

  


“I dunno, Doc, I can’t say I like the sound of this much,” said Wayne. 

Hanji and Zack exchanged a glance. “Well, we’re not forcing you to do anything, of course,” Hanji said. “But you should see this as a duty to _science_ , really. Some kind of experiment as significant as this completely escaping the public eye? It can’t be ignored. This—”

Zachary, with a strained husbandly smiles, coughed to cut in. “We know the science element to all this isn’t much in your interest.” He briefly glanced from Wayne to Levi, and Levi nearly rolled his eyes. “But Hanji has been studying similar possible phenomena in genetics for years, and isn’t an amateur in the subject. You can trust her.” 

Levi had only met the other clones once or twice over the last three weeks, and never more than one at a time. Hanji had wanted to see if Levi knew any of them, or if they could possibly be related in a way that wasn’t out of the ordinary, but it was hard to know since their blood showed little _in_ the ordinary. Levi hadn’t asked what that meant. 

“Brain testing will take the longest amount of time, yes, but it’s one of the less painful—”

“We’ll pay for whatever time you have to take off from, uh, day jobs,” Zachary cut in again.

So very difficult for Levi not to roll his eyes. Wayne waved around his unlit cigarette. “I don’t got a day job, but you’re paying for my gas money.”

“You’ll do it?” Hanji clasped her hands. “Great! I know tomorrow’s really soon, but—”

“We’ll—”

“Stop interrupting me, you twit!” Hanji glared at Zack and adjusted her glasses. “Anyway, tomorrow’s soon, but it’s the only day I could reserve the company lab all to myself for the whole day. I think I’l be able to test all of you in time. The results will come later.” 

Daniel crossed his arms. “We’ll get to see them, right? Like usual?” 

“You?” Hanji laughed once. “I was counting on you and Erwin to put in some legwork! Lab assistants are always best when they’re free, yes?” 

Daniel laughed, but Erwin still looked as serious as he usually did—it was one trait Levi hadn’t expected to see, especially in someone who could easily get away with being another carefree, arrogant ass without consequence. Levi felt a pang of approval for Daniel’s taste in friends. Maybe Daniel wasn’t just old money and new style after all. 

“I still don’t see how brain tests will help construct the genome,” Daniel said. “I thought that was your goal, to find the biggest differences between a regular person’s genome and a clone’s?”

Hanji nodded vigorously and dismissed him with her hand. “Yes, yes, that’s my goal, but that will take me ages if I do it alone. I might as well get as much information on everyone as I can before you get sick of me. Who knows what I might find? Maybe it was some kind of superhuman experiment and there’s enhanced neural connections somewhere that…haven’t been activated.” She finished up her last words in a rush. “Okay, well, Cameron, since you’re schedule’s the most flexible, it would be best if you came in first…” 

Levi tuned her out, annoyed about the constant jibes to his intelligence. _Haven’t been activated_. Please—Levi didn’t need consolation for the fact he wasn’t above average in anything, much less superhuman. He got by, and that’s what mattered. Or rather, what else mattered? 

“Levi?” 

He glanced back to Hanji. “Sorry?”

“Third in line work for you? You can come in as late as three. You know the address, right?” 

Three didn’t work. Mikasa usually rode the bus in the morning because he didn’t want to run the risk of falling asleep behind the wheel after his late nights at work. But he always picked her up in the afternoons. At three. His babysitter would be out of school by then, but did he trust her to pick up his kid from school on time? Yes, but he didn’t trust her ability to navigate the shit drivers everywhere. 

No one here, not even Hanji, knew he had a kid. Levi planned to keep it that way. 

“Is there any chance I could go earlier? I have something around then.”

Her eyes were wide and innocent. “Oh. Sure! We can just switch you can Daniel then. Alright, Cameron first, then Levi, Daniel, Wayne, and Zack. Don’t forget to pick up the kids.” 

Levi’s head jerked up quickly, but Hanji’s arm was around Zack, of course. Levi glanced around the room, but no one seemed to have noticed. 

Except maybe Erwin, but he looked away before Levi could be sure he saw his reaction. Levi let out a slow breath. He hoped Daniel was the smarter one.

  


><><><

  


The Fisk Incorporated Research Center wasn’t a guest-friendly place. Most of the spaces in the surrounding car lot were reserved for employees, so Levi always had to park a mile away. Every time Hanji came up with another “simple” test, Levi agreed to humor her and get paid, and every time he arrived, Hanji would be standing at the doors smiling like a ten year old waiting for her friends to come over. She wasn’t this time, though. 

Actually, Fisk Incorporated Research Center didn’t like guests, period. The security was obscene in Levi’s opinion, but what did he know? He worked at a family-owned health food store. It had a few cameras and cheap door alarms. The Research Center had subtle surveillance cameras every few yards, alien-like code pads, and keycard readers at anything that could be mistaken for an entrance—some of the doors didn’t even have handles. 

There was no way he was going to touch anything, let alone knock, lest some alarm go off, so Levi just stood by the door and waited. He was early anyway. Luckily, winter’s chill was long gone and summer on its way. 

Summer reminded him of Mikasa. Which also reminded him: What was he going to do during his very first summer with her? His late-shifts would come in handy since he couldn’t afford a babysitter for the more demanding day hours, but what was he going to do to entertain a six-year-old for two and a half months? Camps were way too expensive. What if Mikasa got sick of him? Levi knew he got sick of adults pretty quickly when he was a kid. Did Mikasa have friends to play with instead? Levi felt guilty for not knowing…not asking. When was the last time he had a conversation with her? Could six-year-olds have conversations? Levi thought about buying a book on the subject. Were there books about how to manage six-year-olds?

Gaining custody of his daughter had been far more overwhelming than finding out he was an engineered clone.

There was a beep, a click, and the reinforced glass door next to him opened. Levi turned, expecting to see Hanji, but it was Cameron Hall, artist clone. He looked even more frazzled than usual. He stopped when he saw Levi. 

“Watch out. She’s in the zone, so don’t bother trying to have a conversation.” 

“Wouldn’t think of it,” Levi replied, keeping the door open as Hanji’s first victim of the day stepped out into the sun. Cameron's hair was was down, and he was without makeup for once. He looked more like Levi. Better than Levi, since Cameron always looked inexplicably better than all the other clones—even Daniel and his preppy hair and brandname clothes. 

“Also,” Cameron swayed a little. “Those tests drain you. I should probably call Daniel for a ride.” He closed his eyes for a moment, and Levi took a step forward. Cameron opened them again. “Yeah. See ya.” He gave Levi a weak smile, then took out his phone and started down the sidewalk. 

He stepped inside the over-air-conditioned building and made his way to Hanji’s lab. He opened the door, expecting to see Hanji again, but it was Erwin Smith at her desk, clad in a white lab coat. 

Levi’s mind failed to supply any greetings to choose from, so he stared until Erwin looked up. 

“Oh, hello.” Erwin grinned his typical grin. “Hanji said you might come here. We’re actually in the main lab, since it has the machinery we need for today’s tests. I’m just getting the files on—well, you actually.” 

Erwin didn’t get up, and Levi didn’t move either. There was something in Erwin’s expression that made Levi anxious. 

“Speaking of,” Erwin said, looking at the folder in his hands. Levi could see his name scribbled at the top. “Something’s been nagging at me, and I suppose asking is better than speculating.”

Levi frowned. “I didn’t lie about my history. I know very little about my parents.” 

“I’m not talking about lying or your parents,” Erwin said. He radiated an aura of calmness beyond his age—yet Daniel had mentioned they were in the same graduating year. “You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?” 

Yes, Levi thought. He could see the certainty in Erwin’s eyes. Damn him for being the smarter one. “Please don’t tell anyone,” he said, letting out a harsh breath.

“Why?” 

“ _Why?_ ” Levi said. He closed the door behind himself. “Hanji may mean well, but I don’t want her around…my daughter.” The two words still felt strange on his tongue, even after so many months with her.

Erwin wasn’t getting it. “She would leave her alone. I’m sure of it. She never involves her own kids in these things, and she won’t involve yours. I was thinking it would be more convenient for you if Hanji knew about your other major commitments.” 

Maybe he wasn’t so smart after all. “Of course she wouldn’t involve her own kids; they’re adopted,” Levi scoffed. “I don’t know much about genetics, but I do know that my daughter is half my _clone_ -genes, and I don’t think Hanji would let that go unnoticed, considering her interest in clone- _anything_.”

At this, Erwin looked shocked, then utterly confused. Then his face fell neutral again, but he was clearly in deep thought. 

“You’re saying she’s not adopted? You’re absolutely sure she’s yours?” Erwin eventually asked. “I don’t mean to offend you, but is there any room for doubt that—?”

“No,” Levi said with finality. “I’m completely sure.” Mikasa looked too much like him for him to doubt. Her mother wasn’t the cheating type either. Just the break-up-and-leave-with-the-kid type. “I could never afford to adopt a kid.” 

Erwin looked down at the folder again, then set it on the desk. He raked one hand through his hair. “We assumed you were like the others.” 

“What about the others?”

“Infertile.” 

Levi blinked. “Oh,” he muttered. “No. That—that’s definitely not a problem.”

After pursing his lips a moment, Erwin stood and faced him. “It’s been the same chromosomal issue for all of them. Levi, this is not a small thing to keep from Hanji. This could completely change the direction of her research.”

“I don’t—” 

“You, being different in a way so fundamental, is a game changer. Hanji wants to put together the clone genome, yes, and understand its patterns, but that’s not the only…” Erwin seemed to realize what he was saying and trailed off. Levi looked at him expectantly. Erwin grinned. “Please don’t tell anyone?”

“What? Government secrets or something?”

“Not quite. Company secrets.”

Levi narrowed his eyes. “How do you know company secrets?” 

“Daniel’s a genius, but he’s rather unobservant,” Erwin said. “Nonthreatening is a better word; he can get involved in the ‘what’ without anyone worrying he’ll find out the ‘why.’ I tag along, and for some reason, I’m trusted by extension.” He shrugged. “Still don’t understand why.”

“No? Then I’d say you’re pretty unobservant too.”

“What?” 

“Never mind. You mentioned company secrets?” Levi huffed. “Why not risk myself by hearing about them in the same building they come from, right?” 

There was a tad of smugness in Erwin’s eyes. “No worries. I disable the bugs in this room every time I work with Hanji.” 

“Does Hanji know?” 

Erwin good humor disappeared in an instant. “No. She’s not unobservant, but she’s kept in the dark. Anything I tell you cannot be repeated to her or anyone else.” 

“Kept in the—” The weight of the conversation was finally dawning on Levi. “Why bother turning them off then? If everyone around here’s clueless?”

“To speak freely with Cameron, actually.” 

Levi was just confused again. “What, _Cameron Hall?_ Okay, maybe I shouldn’t know whatever the hell you’re talking about.”

“No, I think you should know what’s going on,” Erwin said. He seemed angry at himself all of a sudden. “God, Cameron and I have been so invested in this that it didn’t even occur to me that you might…” He shook his head. 

“Then just tell me already, Hanji’s probably thinking we went out for coffee.” There was a beat, and Levi cursed himself for saying stupid shit.

Erwin nodded once. “I’ll try to sum it up. Maybe we should meet after this so I can figure out—” He looked pale suddenly.

“What?”

“If…” Erwin let out a slow breath. “If they found out you have a biological daughter, they’ll think you’re the original.” When Levi looked at him with a blank expression, he continued in a rushed voice. “Alright, alright. Fisk Incorporated found out about a cloning project the government secretly funded ages ago. It was successful, but abandoned for some reason, and the newborn clones were spread around under false identities. The corporation’s been trying to track them down ever since. After over twenty years of searching, they finally got their big break: Hanji. She’s one of a kind in her field, and even better, turns out she unwittingly married one of the clones they were looking for.”

“How did anyone figure out he was a clone?” 

“Daniel,” Erwin said, right before there was a knock. 

Levi immediately envisioned security on the other side, a kind much deadlier than any at a club or bar, but this time it was Hanji, finally. 

“Sorry for the wait,” Erwin said in a pleasant tone, his expression betraying nothing. “I’ve just been reassuring Levi about the process. He’s not quite as gung-ho about someone poking around his brain as Cameron and Daniel are.” 

Hanji smiled distractedly, “Let’s get started, shall we?” 

They walked down the hall in silence, Hanji too caught up in her own thoughts to bother with conversation, just as Cameron said. Levi tried not to look at Erwin, afraid his own expression would betray something. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so genuinely…

Afraid. Sure, getting Mikasa was scary, but it wasn’t _ominous_. 

What had he gotten himself into? A secret experiment, ill-intentioned but ultimately harmless? Or a true conspiracy, with potential consequences that even made an acquaintance like Erwin Smith worried for him? What did Erwin mean about his daughter? About being the original? 

When the final test was completed, Levi had never been so ready to leave a building in his life, not even Good Foods after a double shift. He collapsed inside his car and wondered if his seats had always been this comfortable. He fell asleep. 

  


There was the sound of tapping. Levi opened his eyes and jumped half a foot when he saw Erwin at his window. He rolled it down, trying not to look as disoriented as he felt. 

“Sorry to wake you,” Erwin said, “But I saw your car still sitting in the lot when I came out to let Daniel in, and you said you had somewhere to be at three, I believe.”

Levi’s eyes flew to the clock on his dashboard, but the car was off. He scrambled for his phone. Where was it? He couldn’t think straight. The tests weren’t supposed to have left him so incapacitated that he couldn’t drive, but…

“It’s two-fifteen. You’re picking her up from school?”

Levi let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. A forty-five minute miracle. “How did you know?”

“Zack picks up his kids at around the same time. Both in kindergarten. How old’s yours?”

“Same,” Levi said, blinking repeatedly as he tried to wake himself up.

“What’s her name?” 

“Mikasa.” Wasn’t he not supposed to tell anyone? Levi muddled through their last conversation in his head. “Wait. About—”

Erwin slipped him a piece of paper. “Here’s my number. If anyone asks, I gave it to you just in case you ever need a ride. Sometimes I have to give Cameron one after testing, too. Or for any reason, really; he’s an awful driver. Anyway, call me tonight or tomorrow at the latest, and I can talk to you about arranging something.”

“Something?”

Erwin leaned in closer. “You don’t want to be important to these people, Levi. As long as they have other clones to work with, they don’t need you all that much. But if you’re special, that means a lot more problems on your plate. For you and Mikasa.” 

Levi stared at him, then the paper. He wasn’t used to feeling at a complete loss, but here he was. 

“You have a lot more to lose than the others,” Erwin said. “No one would bother taking adopted children, but…”

“I get it,” Levi muttered.

“The money’s not worth it. Not from Fisk or your shifts at the grocery. I—we can figure out something else. Even a better school for her. What do you think?”

Of all the things Levi could have said—Better school? What the hell are you talking about?—he asked, “How do you know where I work?” 

Erwin grinned patiently. “You told Hanji about your job in one of your first meetings, remember? You told her a lot, but not about your daughter. I swear I won’t tell anyone. Now you better go.” He gestured to the note. “Tonight or tomorrow morning at the very latest. There’s no telling how fast they’ll find out about Mikasa if they develop even a passing interest in you.”

He began to walk away, but Levi asked, “Who’s they?”

Erwin paused only a second. “I wish I had an easy answer for you.”


	2. Chapter 2

Ten Months Earlier

“Goodbye, Mr. Ackerman,” said the woman from Social Services. “And good luck!” 

Levi stared at the stack of pamphlets on the couch about raising a child, particularly for parents in his difficult situation. He didn’t understand why the woman looked so cheery, considering she just dropped a perfectly good kid off with some…person like him. 

_“It will mean a lot to her that you’re so open to this.”_

Did he really have a choice? Levi hadn’t asked. He was sure he was two dollars away from being unfit to support anyone as it was, let alone a child as young as Mikasa. Yet the social worker seemed pleased. Maybe other homes were worse than his. Or maybe she was just impressed that Levi kept his place so clean.

He stared at the kid on the couch, who was staring back at him like he was a captivating television show. Big dark eyes, smooth black hair, pouty face. Six years old and ready to start Kindergarten. She was dressed in black leggings, a bright pink skirt, a little blue sweater, and a jean jacket. He saw her shiver and he cursed. Then he cursed that he cursed. 

He got up to change the temperature, wincing with every higher degree. He told himself spending more money now was inevitable. At least the woman had come with two suitcases of clothing and belongings. She hadn’t come with a lot of other stuff, though, things the pamphlets said were mandatory. At least diapers weren’t on the list. But life insurance was, and new school supplies…

Levi wondered if the late-shift at his work payed more. Probably not enough. He would use his savings for now, then see if a second job was necessary down the road—

“Wanna watch me jump rope?” Mikasa asked. “I’m really good.” 

Levi gaped at her dumbly for a moment, then nodded. He sat down in his shabby armchair while Mikasa hopped off the couch and dug through one of her suitcases for a white plastic rope with red handles. Since Levi’s house was sparse already, she had no problem skipping rope right there in the living room. She counted up from one all the way to forty without messing up once. She stopped and smiled, breathing a little harder, and waited for her father’s reaction.

Clueless, Levi just said, “That’s definitely the best I’ve seen someone jump rope before.” It was the truth, anyway. 

It was the right thing to say. 

  


The social worker had told him that getting Mikasa her own bed was among his priorities, but she hadn’t said what to do before he checked that item off the list. Mikasa solved the problem herself, that first night, when she asked if they could build a fort. Levi could do that. It was crude, with a few blankets weighed down over the couch, the armchair, and some kitchen table chairs, the couch cushions as walls, and pillows everywhere. No sure what else to do, he brought down his mattress from upstairs. Mikasa didn’t seem to mind sharing it, even through Levi must still seem like a stranger to her.

Mikasa brought several story books. Levi read most of them under the lamp he took from the second bedroom he used as a poor excuse of a study. He forgot that six-year-olds probably weren’t supposed to stay up so late, but he was too anxious to demand they go to sleep. He got the feeling Mikasa knew this. Maybe he was just paranoid, but maybe Mikasa was playing him already. She asked for ice cream, and Levi accidentally promised he’d buy some. 

It was all worth it when they finally did turn out the light, when Mikasa said the word he didn’t expect her to speak for years, if at all. 

“Night night, daddy.”

  


><><><

  


Levi meant to text Erwin the night before, but like so many times before, he’d touched his bed and was dead to the world. His alarm went off properly the next morning, he watched Mikasa walk to the bus on her own from the front door, then he ate breakfast and got ready for Friday on his own. 

Before the clone mess, he spent the daytime doing extra grunt work for his boss at Good Foods, running errands, designing truly depressing budgets for himself, and most of all, sleeping. 

But today he wasn’t tired at all. He blew off breakfast for his phone, and sent Erwin a message that he was free until one, since he had an appointment—or rather Mikasa did, but he wasn’t putting that in a text. Texts might be intercepted by…someone. Levi hadn’t pinned himself as someone prone to paranoia until Mikasa, and since then, he’d trusted exactly nobody. Except maybe the babysitter. 

Erwin responded five minutes later with a time and the same address Levi had gone to two days before: Daniel’s apartment. Levi wanted to ask why, but decided against it. He left his car at the townhouse and took the subway downtown. 

Every subway car was packed to the brim, everyone drinking coffee or sleeping, or on their phones or reading. Levi wondered if any of them had some unbelievable secret that no one else would ever know. After all, none of them would ever know that he himself was something unbelievable. Hopefully they wouldn’t. He was just an average looking guy, albeit short, albeit rough, albeit…

Levi almost cursed out loud when he realized he probably should have worn something less thrown-on-in-fifteen-seconds. Too late now. At least he remembered to comb his hair. What did it matter anyway? What if Daniel was there? It’s his apartment, after all. Didn’t Erwin say he was the oblivious one who didn’t know any company secrets?

“Fuck,” he scolded himself, barely a whisper. What. Did. It. Matter. 

No one so much as glanced at him. Levi tried to scrape together some hope; maybe it was possible that he could just disappear with Mikasa forever if things got messier than they already were. He just had to do it in time, and Erwin was going to help him. 

Levi got off the subway with renewed determination. He never liked his job. He never liked his home. He never liked living with the fear that something might happen to the daughter he never dared dream he’d one day meet. Maybe this stupid clone mess was the ticket to a new life he never dared dream he’d get. 

  


“Wow. A new confidant. Didn’t see that one coming.”

Cameron shifted his weight from one leg to the other. He wore a smock over his clothes so covered in flecks of color. Levi wondered if they had been painted there deliberately. It seemed to levi like Cameron was going to be in all day—hard at work with a huge abstract piece that looked a little less than half completed—yet the man had clearly put effort into his hair and make up. To each his own, Levi thought. 

“He did see that one coming,” Erwin said, closing the door behind Levi and locking it. He sat at the fancy computer, and Cameron turned back to his canvas. Without looking at Levi, he fiddled with the keyboard as he spoke. “Cameron actually was the one who mentioned you as a possible ally.”

“Ally. Really?” Levi drawled. “Against who?” 

Erwin glanced at him, then back at the screen. “Fisk Incorporated, of course. I didn’t get to tell you much yesterday, but there’s more to what their doing than just playing with your blood samples.” 

“Okay…”

Erwin kept typing and clicking. Levi didn’t know what the hell he was doing, but Erwin explained a moment later, “Just setting this up to delete the history of everything I do on it for the next few hours.”

“You really don’t trust Daniel, do you? That surprises me. You two seem so close.”

Just as Erwin pressed his lips together, Cameron laughed out loud.

“See, Erwin? I’m not the only one.”

Levi glanced between the two. Erwin couldn’t keep the irritation off his face. “Don’t listen to him. I trust Daniel enough to deal with Fisk’s people on his own without getting himself in trouble. I know his intentions are good, like Hanji. Not that his intentions will do him much good if it ever comes down to, well….”

“What?”

“We don’t really know. Threats? Lies? Promises? The exact process is unclear, but there have been at least two other clones who knew too much, and neither of them came out of Fisk Headquarters once they went inside.” 

“Process? Wait, what?” Levi swallowed. 

“There are some clones that Fisk uses for research purposes. Right now, that means you, Cameron, Daniel, Wayne, and Zachary. All the clones Hanji has a knack for tracking down, intentionally or not.” Erwin pulled up a page with pictures of each clone’s driver’s license photo, plus information about each of them in a second column. Levi saw himself, the other clones he knew, and a few other strangers—familiar strangers, since they all had his face. “But there are other clones—” Erwin pointed to the strangers, “—that Hanji doesn’t know about. They're the flip-side of Fisk’s clone project.”

Erwin pulled up a chair, and Levi sat down. As Erwin spoke, he opened up a blank box on the screen and typed in it. _I’m saying all this for Cameron’s sake. I didn’t know he’d be here. He usually works in his own studio, but he’s always kept some of his work at Daniel’s. He thinks you’re going to be one of us, a mole in the system. If you don’t want to know too much, if you want to get on with eluding this mess, feel free to say something came up with work and leave. We can set another date. Sorry._

“Some unknown high ups at Fisk don’t just want to know about what makes the clones different, they want to know their origin. They want to know how you came into existence at all. The records of the project have long been destroyed. The only reason the corporation found out about the clones at all was because it got a whiff of the buzz over its success.”

Erwin finally paused and glanced at Levi, searching for an answer. Levi nodded toward the screen. “Which ones disappeared?”

“Uh, Reiji Tanaka and Anton Golubev. Both found abroad less about a year after Hanji identified the profile they needed.”

“And Hanji has no idea these two clones ever existed?” 

“No, and not the others either. We have no idea where these others are, but there’s no evidence they’re kept at Headquarters. Cameron and I have a hunch they’re not even in the United States.”

Erwin erased his message and typed: _Are you sure?_

Levi snatched the keyboard. _No point in leaving anything out now._ “Any idea what the corporation does to them?” Levi asked. “You said ‘flip-side’…”

“Nothing as harmless as what Hanji does, I’m willing to bet.”

Erwin closed the chat box without warning, just as Cameron came over to the computer. Levi tried to school his face—he hadn’t even noticed Cameron leave the easel. 

“I’m willing to bet,” Cameron said, leaning his arms on the back of Erwin’s chair, “they’re fucked.” 

Levi glanced between them. He felt as if he were walking on ice the last three weeks, expecting each step to be the same as the last, except suddenly, now he’s drowning. At some point, he’d put his foot in the very wrong place. 

“Why are you bothering to get so deep in this?” Levi asked. “What do you have to gain? Honestly, I don’t understand why _you’re_ involved at all.”

Erwin’s grin was tight. “What worries us most is these two.” He pointed to the Japanese and Russian clones. “What we’ve gathered about Tanaka remotely and learned from Anton Golubev himself makes us worry for all the other clones, too. Anton knew Reiji Tanaka personally, through the program Fisk forced them into. Tanaka was even smarter than Hanji, from what he led us to believe, but dumb enough to confront whoever he thought was responsible about some of the more questionable experiments. Anton said he couldn’t be certain how it happened, but he was certain Tanaka died days later.”

“The thing is,” Cameron continued, “Anton was not the avenging type, or the dumbass type, or any type that would get himself into trouble with these Fisk guys. But we lost contact with him for over three months. We did everything in our power to learn what happen to him and ended up concluding he was killed too.”

“Apparently for no reason other than his status as a clone,” Erwin said. “Or as Tanaka’s contact, I guess.” 

Erwin and Cameron were silent as they let it all sink in for Levi. Levi tried to piece together the point they were making. “So…you’re worried the experiments on the flip-side of Fisk’s clone project are going to be deadly for all of us, at one point or another.” 

Cameron blinked in surprise, but Erwin smirked. “Sorry we aren’t so eloquent. Yes, that’s exactly what we’re worried about. They won’t take out all the clones, of course; they’ll want to have some live material around when they’re eventually able to attempt the cloning process themselves. But hopefully that ability is very far down the road. They’re waiting for Hanji to put together the whole genome, figure out just what makes you both a clone and—”

“ _Alive,_ ” Cameron finished. “Damn, all this talk about life and death is making me hungry. Go get some food would you? I need to stay here and make progress on this thing. It’s commissioned, so I can’t slack off.” He wiped his hands on his smock and left his spot by the computer. 

Minutes later, Erwin and Levi were on the streets, looking for a place to get takeout. 

“I have to say, you’re taking this better than I thought.”

Levi raised an eyebrow. “You think so? I must be a better actor than I thought. This whole thing doesn’t even feel completely real. That, or I’m scared shitless and I don’t want it to be real.” His casual tone wasn’t very convincing.

“Well, you’ve been put in a bad position.” 

“Bad?” Levi repeated. “Try awful. How did I even get myself in this situation, again? I honestly don’t remember anymore.”

“Hanji hired you. She means well, remember? She doesn’t know about any flip-side.”

“But _you_ do, and Cameron. Did you think I wouldn’t mind being involved in something as psychotic as this? As long as I was paid, I’ll do whatever?” Almost whatever, but not quite.

Erwin frowned at the streets ahead of him and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “We didn’t expect you to ever find out, but—I mean, none of us could have known about, well, you know…” Erwin rubbed his face. “We didn’t think.” 

They didn’t stop at any of the food joints they passed as they continued to walk.

“I didn’t answer your question earlier,” Erwin said. 

“What?”

“About why Cameron and I are so invested—enough to look over the wellbeing of all the clones working with Hanji. Hell, the wellbeing of Hanji herself. It comes down to how all this started. Remember what I said right before you took your brain test? About how Hanji first put two and two together when she realized her husband was a clone? Hanji was a guest speaker when Daniel and I were still juniors at Princeton—not even five years older than us, and she’s already a guest speaker there. She stopped us just after her speech was over, saying Daniel looked _just_ like her husband. She wouldn’t let the resemblance go, so we agreed to have lunch with her and meet her husband, who worked with her and tended to tag along during her rounds of lectures in New Jersey and New York. You can imagine we were pretty intrigued when we saw Hanji hadn’t been exaggerating. I was a little freaked out actually.” 

Erwin hesitated half a beat at a sandwich shop, then kept moving. “Cameron can wait. He’s no—”

“Starving artist,” Levi finished. He smirked.

Erwin laughed. “Exactly. Anyway, as it turned out, I was the only one truly shocked at all. And considering Daniel isn’t exactly insensitive to shocks, I found it pretty suspicious that seeing someone who might possibly be his _clone_ wasn’t affecting him more.”

“Why didn’t it?”

“He’d already seen one. He met Cameron back as a sophomore at a gallery showing. He told me and Hanji right there and then, because keeping their friendship secret for so long was getting to him”

“He was friends with a clone in secret without telling you? Wow.”

Erwin shrugged. “He said he was afraid I would freak out or something.”

“Couldn’t they have just lied and said they were related?”

“That would be even more lies to keep up with, and Daniel is terrible at lying, believe me.” 

Levi was quiet a moment. “I bet Hanji was ecstatic.”

“And so was Fisk Incorporated. They went from zero clones to three in a day.” Erwin finally steered them both in the direction of a pizza parlor. “I hope you’re not a health nut, too, because I never get to eat here with Daniel or Cameron.” 

Levi confirmed he definitely wasn’t a health nut—he didn’t mention how he couldn’t afford to be—and followed Erwin inside. They ordered something simple and were out the door in another twenty minutes. They didn’t say anything of substance while they waited. Erwin talked about how his grad school work was derailed when Daniel and Hanji decided to work together part time. Levi nodded at the right places while debating in his head, yet again, whether Daniel and Erwin were dating or not. 

Erwin said Daniel was a terrible liar, but maybe they were both great secret-keepers? Levi certainly hoped Erwin was, considering. Maybe they had tried dating and it fizzled back to friendship. Or maybe they both wanted to date but hadn’t gotten around to it because they were both had sticks up their asses. Highly likely. Maybe one of them was dating Cameron? Hopefully not Daniel, Levi thought. He winced at his train of thought and asked himself when he had begun to think like a petty gossip. 

  


><><><

  


Two Weeks Earlier

“Levi! Good to see you again. I’m so glad you make it over. I’m sorry my office is so messy.” Hanji scrambled around, making some things neater and other things messier as babbled on and on. 

She gestured at one point to the seat across from her desk, and Levi sat down.

“This actually will be short. I wanted to give you another vision test. I got this hunch that you did a little too well on the last one.”

Levi’s face was blank. “Is that possible?” 

“Well, my test wasn’t the usual. It had rows that you weren’t supposed to see, but you managed it.”

“What’s the point of having rows someone can’t see?”

“One of the newer protocols for the clone project. Got orders from the top to keep an eye out for—” She laughed at her own words. “Eye out. Ha, sorry, to be aware of signs of giftedness in a clone. Apparently all the high-ups are convinced that this particular set of clone DNA must have been chosen for some reason. Anyway, your test a few days ago was great. I’ll leave you alone about this afterward; like I said, this is just a favor for Fisk. I’m not much interested in your eyes.”

“What are you interested in?”

“Don’t get me wrong, your eyes are likable. Pretty grey color I don’t think I’ve seen before. But I’m not about the parts; I’m about the whole. The sum of your genes is nothing compared to the whole genome, Levi Ackerman.”

  


><><><

  


Later that evening, Levi was still texting Erwin when he went into work. 

“Who’re you texting?” asked one of the cashiers on break. Petra Ral was one of the more pleasant ones.

“No one you know,” Levi said.

“I want to know! You looked so invested. Mikasa can’t text yet, can she?” 

Levi glared at her. “Don’t talk about her.” 

She recoiled. “Wha—Jeez, since when?” 

“Since now,” then he tacked on, “please. Something’s come up and…”

She held her hands up. “Say no more, Mr. Mysterious Manager. Say no more.” 

Petra was Levi’s favorite cashier. 

It was a slow night, which had Levi feeling a mix of gratitude and frustration. Enough room to breathe but too much room to think.

Three weeks of sporadic meet ups with Hanji and whoever else, trying to process the increasingly conclusive evidence that he was man-made in a very different sense. Three weeks of pretending this new side job was no big deal, that it didn’t really matter what the hell he was as long as he could support himself and his kid. 

Then these two days—Levi checked the clock—three days happened. Three very draining days.

Throughout the night at the grocery, something Cameron or Erwin said would surface to the forefront of his mind, and Levi would feel the strong urge to run home and check on Mikasa. Run her back to work and keep her there, behind the customer service desk, watching her play with coloring books and markers. After working at the grocery for two years, he felt safer behind that desk than in his own home.

And one horrifying thought was creeping up on Levi: Was he was safe anywhere in the world, if Fisk Incorporated had plucked two clones from different countries with nothing but a profile of what he looked like? 

Maybe Erwin and Cameron were making this out to be a lot more dramatic than it was. His girlfriend used to do that, used to consider any lack of money as a death sentence. She’d grown so scared, and they argued so much, that she left with four-week-old Mikasa and moved in with some relative Levi never met. Told Levi he couldn’t be involved in their lives. Since they never got around to marrying, he had little power to oppose her. Maybe her fear of poverty had rubbed off on him, or her excessive frugality, but he was more glad than guilty that they hadn’t tied the knot. Divorce was expensive, after all. 

All that fear of not being able to pay rent, of being able to feed the baby, of the possibility of Levi losing his job and not being able to get another—all that, and money hadn’t been his girlfriend’s death sentence at all. Just a pickup truck and bad timing. 

Levi was exhausted on several levels when he got home later that morning. He saw out the babysitter and came to a stop halfway up the stairs. 

“Mikasa, what are you…what’s wrong?”

She had her blanket and her stuffed Mickey Mouse clutched in her hands, tear tracks down her face. Levi hurried up the rest of the stairs and kneeled down in front of her, hands on her arms. “What’s wrong?” In his mind rushed all the horrors no normal father would imagine happening to their children, horrors that Levi’s subconscious had been designing over past three days.

“I had a bad dream.” 

Levi stilled. “Oh,” he said. He took a deep breath. 

Mikasa sniffled more. He switched gears and reminded himself that protecting a child also meant comforting them. As Mikasa came closer, he hugged her tight. “Everything’s alright, Mickey. It wasn’t real.” She buried her head in his shoulder and Levi lifted her up. She was small for someone her age, from what Levi could tell. Hopefully she would be taller than her parents, but if she wasn’t, he was certain she would have the strength to make up for it.

He was certain because when he brought her back into her room, she was already climbing under the covers. “I’m okay now, you can go to sleep. Night night, daddy.” 

Levi sighed. “Goodnight, Mikasa.”

If only what he had gotten himself into was just a bad dream. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments = yay.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Levi met with Erwin at a coffee shop, actually alone this time. He’d barely slept the night before with the thoughts of the possible fallout of being involved with the clone project constantly rushing around in his mind like a worsening storm.

“You look tired,” Erwin said.

Levi ignored him. “Don’t you get sick of seeing this face all the time? Isn’t it weird for you that all your friends look the same?”

“You really are tired.”

“I’m serious,” Levi insisted, sipping the coffee that did little to stop his hands from shaking. He held the cup tighter and hid his left hand under the table. Why did humans need so much goddamn sleep to function properly?

Erwin looked away, considering. “No. I can’t say I get sick of it. You’re all unique, so it’s pretty hard for me to see you as clones, actually. Different clothes, styles, hair, disposition. Way you talk, act, react, think. Almost completely different.”

“Huh.” That reminded Levi of something. “I have a question. If I’m the clone of Daniel, how come he’s so much smarter? Or if I’m the clone of Cameron, how come he can look alright without putting in a bit of effort? I guess I’m more like that asshole Wayne, except I work harder. Or if I’m Zachary’s clone, how come he can get his shit together as a father and I can’t? Is there some kind of good father gene?”

Erwin doesn’t look amused. “There is an ability-to-become-a-father gene, and you’re the only one who has it, Levi. You do realize nothing you’re saying is making sense, right?”

“What?”

“Well,” Erwin said, gesturing toward Levi, “what’s to say they’re not all clones of you? You could be the original.”

“What’s do you even mean by that?”

“Well,” Erwin said, with far more patience than Levi considered normal, “everyone involved in this is pretty sure the genetic sequence originated in some random person, naturally born. Or not random—we’re not sure about that. We call this person the ‘original.’ Hanji, Daniel, and I discussed the possibility of infertility being a consequence of cloning rather than a gene being cloned long before you came along. Now, I’m almost certain that hunch is correct. All this is so important because it means there could be other factors about your DNA that were lost in translation, or rather, replication.”

“So?”

Erwin lowered his voice. “If the corporation is going to duplicate a human again, they don’t want anything important lost this time around. Especially not something as significant as fertility. It’s possible that the government-funded cloning project you came from was abandoned for just that reason.”

“Because the others can’t have kids? What’s the big deal?”

Erwin waved his drink. “You’re guess is as good as mine. Zachary clearly got over any blow to self-esteem it might have had.”

“I doubt self-esteem was the issue for the corporation,” Levi said.

“Of course not,” Erwin agreed. “Fertility failure—if it was _the_ failure that closed down the entire project—must have had serious ramifications.”

Levi squinted at him. “Do you always talk like this?”

“Like what?”

‘Serious ramifications?’ Who talks like that?”

Erwin smiled, and Levi’s hands stilled for a merciful second. “Daniel, Hanji, even Zack sometimes. They’re all too smart for me.”

“I would think it’s the other way around, if you’re the one keeping secrets.”

“When it comes to the hard science, let’s just say Daniel’s the one who’s always impressing professors.”

“Not the female professors, I bet.”

Erwin gives him an exasperated look. “Back to your really tired questions from before. Say you’re the original. Daniel and the others are copies of _your_ genes. That means they’re only smart because you are, only attractive because you are, and only assholes sometimes because anyone can be an asshole.”

“That last part, I think you’re finally starting to make sense,” Levi said.

Erwin leaned back, clearly on the verge of rolling his eyes. Levi took another sip of coffee to hide his smirk. “You need to give yourself more credit. Or cut yourself some slack, one or the other. Or both. Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I don’t believe you had the same opportunities as Daniel growing up, did you?”

“Hanji and Zack dropped enough hints didn’t they?”

“They…It was obnoxious of them,” Erwin said, frowning, “I’m sorry.”

Levi shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. You’re right, university was never in the cards. Not in the deck at all, really.”

“Do you get my point though?”

Levi shrugged again, just to see Erwin get more annoyed. He wasn’t disappointed.

“Speaking of opportunities,” Erwin set his cup down a little too hard and reached for his phone. “I wanted to meet with you in the first place so I could show you what I’ve come up with.” He handed the phone over, and Levi reluctantly took it. “This was what I was supposed to be showing you yesterday, but Cameron felt like being lazy and sticking around all day, apparently.”

“He lives there?” Levi asked.

“He’s better friends with Daniel than I am, to be honest. Cameron just doesn’t have any interest in going back to school.”

Levi felt ridiculous for asking but, “They’re not…I mean…”

Erwin stared at him until it clicked. “Oh. Uh, no. They love to tell strangers that they’re twin brothers. And about what Cameron said yesterday, for the longest time he was convinced Daniel and I were together, kind of like you assumed. He kept implying that we were ‘very close’ too, until I set him straight.”

Levi snorted. “I don’t know if anyone could do that to Cameron.”

Erwin did roll his eyes then. “He likes girls too. I don’t think there’s anything he doesn’t like, actually.”

Levi decided to fish, because why not? “I don’t know if this is news to you, Erwin, but I have a feeling Daniel doesn’t want you to set him straight either.”

Erwin looked down at his coffee. Levi realized he hit a sorer spot than intended. “Sorry, I—”

“Too late for that,” Erwin interrupted. “I mean for me. I had no idea he felt that way and…Daniel was there when I told Cameron off. He—God, it was embarrassing. I never felt so stupid in my life. Daniel was heartbroken, Cameron told me I was blind. He was right, I guess.”

Levi made a face. “If Daniel’s so smart, how the hell did he miss the fact you were straight?”

“Smart and unobservant, remember? But that didn’t apply in this case. He knew I wasn’t…he’s always known I swing both ways, so I am to blame, at least a little. He accused me later of leading him on. I just had no idea.”

Levi tried to keep his face neutral, but it was hard to do that and think of something sensible to say at the same time. “Oh, uh, sorry. I guess. It’s good you’re still friends.” He took a sip of his drink and coughed.

“Yeah.” Erwin nodded, more to himself. “Yeah. He’s a good person, like I’ve always said. It’s one of the bigger reasons why Cameron and I are doing this. Daniel got wrapped up in a strange project with Fisk Incorporated, and neither of us had the heart to leave him to fend for himself. When we found out the truth—that he and the other clones were in danger—we didn’t have the guts to tell him. We still don’t. He wants to make a difference with Hanji, to truly learn the secrets of cloning, and Cameron and I aren’t sure we have the right to tear that dream away just yet, despite everything. For now, we’re still in a place where we can investigate as effectively as we could without him knowing anything.”

After a lull, Levi’s eyes wandered down to the forgotten phone in his hand. Levi woke the display. It was the profile of an elementary school halfway across the country. Levi frowned. He glanced at the other tabs: houses for rent, job listings…

“Levi?”

Levi looked up from the phone.

“I know you’ll hate me for saying this, but don’t think too much about the cost. Getting you involved in the first place was Hanji’s idea, but it was my fault for not giving you the disclaimer she doesn’t know about. I want to fix this. With Mikasa, you shouldn’t be involved.”

To Levi’s utter bafflement, his eyes felt dry and his body too stiff. He stared at the phone like he was hypnotized. “Yeah, don’t say that,” he said weakly. Whatever hope he still harbored had turned to smoke. He knew, with sudden, intuitive certainty, that Erwin’s efforts were pointless. “Erwin…”

As if hearing his thoughts, Erwin said, “It’s worth a try. There’s nothing to lose.”

“If they can find someone in Russia, they can find someone in America.”

“They may never look for you.”

“Leaving now would be suspicious.”

“Not if we think of a good reason for you to leave.”

Levi huffed and shook his head, feeling his hands become shaky again. He took the last gulp of his coffee, then got up to throw it away.

He sat down, crossing his arms on the table, his hands in fists to keep them still. “And what would that be? I was offered some amazing job in another state? Me, high school dropout, resume hardly better than my six-year-old daughter’s? I have no family to go care for—it’s in my file—and I have no friends that I could just ask to live with for an indefinite period of time for no reason. I’ve lived here my whole life, and I up and go a few weeks after I get involved with Hanji’s clone tests? Hanji, who’s paying me pretty damn well for sitting in a chair while she sticks needles in me? If this fucked up corporation is as dangerous as you’re making it out to be, they’re not going to let a _clone_ off the radar for _any_ reason.”

Erwin could only look at him with sad, blue eyes. Looking into them, Levi realized he was seeing a reflection of his own inner turmoil. His own words rolled over him like thunder after lightning, and his head fell into one hand.

“I know, Levi. I’m all too aware of your situation, or at least I like to think I am. I just want help, make you feel safe even if it’s a false safety. I wouldn’t want you to blame me for just doing nothing, even if nothing was all I could do. You don’t deserve…It’s just, none of the others are facing the risks you are. Daniel and Cameron have little at stake. Wayne could hide his friends away, and no one would bother looking. Fisk could use Zachary’s kids purely for leverage, I suppose, but Zack’s worked at the corporation for years in other departments—he’s probably gotten himself at least a little good will for that. But you…”

“Are fucked. I get it.” He stared out the window next to their table. It was beginning to rain. So the thunder wasn’t just in his head. “At this point, whatever happens to me doesn’t matter. I just want Mikasa safe.”

“I know.”

“But she has no one else. Her mother’s dead. Her mother’s last relative—some uncle I know next to nothing about—he was killed in the same accident.” He remembered to breathe. “I don’t know what to do.”

He gave back the phone. “I want what you’re offering more than you can know, and for a thousand more reasons than you think. But there’s too big a chance it will only make things worse.”

They sat in silence as the sky let loose and rain poured loudly on the other side of the glass window.

How could life change so fast? Normal one day, devastated the next? Fisk Incorporated was a faceless company Levi knew as little about as Mikasa’s great-uncle. His only consolation was that, as far as he knew, the corporation didn’t know Levi was different from the others.

Erwin broke the silence. “You need some real rest. If you want, you can bring Mikasa over to my apartment after picking her up from school. No one would ever think to look there. And…the school year’s almost over; I can drive her to school if necessary until then. If you want. You wouldn’t have to worry about her so much, and if you’ve been hiring babysitters, you wouldn’t have to pay for them for a while. But it’s just a suggestion.”

Levi didn’t look away from the window. Erwin couldn’t seriously be offering something like that. Levi couldn’t seriously be considering it. “And what will I do with all my extra money?” he muttered. “Buy alcohol for when I’m sitting in my house all day waiting for the boogyman to get me?”

“Pay off whatever debts you have, then agree to work with Hanji just enough so you can quit your other job.”

“What?” Levi looked Erwin straight in the eyes for a moment, then turned away again to glare at the drips streaming down the window. “Quit my job? Rely solely on _Fisk Incorporated_ for my livelihood? Are you saying work for Hanji _more?_ ”

“It’s a point to you if you’re relying on Fisk,” Erwin said. “It makes you less of a threat since _you_ would be needing _them._ ” When Levi didn’t react, Erwin leaned forward. “Remember what I said about Daniel? The corporation likes him because he’s useful and a non-threat. I may have resolved along with Cameron to protected him, but in theory, he would be fine on his own as long as he didn’t find out anything he shouldn’t. We stick around to make sure he stays ignorant. Hanji too, if possible. Zack and Wayne do just fine on their own, from what we can tell. The corporation is making efforts to keep its own full-time employees like Zack in the dark, I’m sure.”

“Zachary was hired just because he was a clone, wasn’t he?”

“It’s possible. But he was working in the right field, Hanji’s field, long before anything came out. I’m sure he’s paid well to stay. But it’s not as Zach isn’t smart.”

Levi forced his gaze away from outside, but he still couldn’t look at Erwin. “I don’t understand your plan. Are you trying to tell me some kind of plan? Two minutes ago you were saying I should move across the country, and now it sounds like you want me to get _closer_ to these people.”

“Well, since we agree getting farther away won’t work long term, and that keeping things as they are is leaving too much up to fate, then getting closer is the only option left.”

“Staying close to your enemies, is that what you’re saying?”

“Not just close,” Erwin said. “Friendly. If they trust you, if you strike a balance with them where they need you just as much as you need them, then they won’t see you as a target, maybe even more than just a tool. They could see you as—”

Levi gave a bitter laugh. “A person? Are clones and people the same thing to them?”

Erwin sighed. “Probably not. But if they see you as a cooperative asset rather than an unreliable liability, they’ll be much more inclined to treat you like a person.”

“That might work in a perfect world,” Levi argued, “but what if they don’t follow that logic? What if they decide I’ll serve them better as a corpse, and social services shows up at their door asking where the hell I am? Mikasa would be their experimental plaything.”

“I don’t think it will come to that.”

Levi finally made himself meet Erwin’s eyes. “Are they businessmen, are they scientists, or are they monsters?” He set his hands on the table like a beggar, trying to convey the helplessness he felt. “If they’re monsters, then nothing I do or don’t do will matter. They’ll be monsters.”

Levi’s eyes jerked down when he felt Erwin’s hands clasped around his own. He looked back up, his eyes wide. “What are…”

“You’re hands were shaking pretty hard,” Erwin said, as if holding his hands in a loud, busy coffee shop wasn’t weird at all. An urge to snatch his hands back briefly materialized, but Levi dismissed it. He hadn’t realized they were so cold until now.

Erwin didn’t let go. “Can I ask you something?”

As Levi nodded, he felt his embarrassment begin to fade.

“Wouldn’t you agree that there’s a monster somewhere in most people?”

Levi scowled. “There’s no point in being phil—”

“Just answer the question.”

“Maybe, sure. Why?”

“So how come everyone isn’t a monster?”

“That’s debatable.”

Erwin waited.

“I don’t know.”

“Because other parts of a person win out. The better parts. The artist, the father, the scientist, the businessman—all better than the monster. If we can manipulate the situation so the inner scientists and businessmen of the masterminds of this project win out over the monsters, then you and Mikasa will be okay. Or at least, more okay than in any other scenario I can come up with.”

Levi could help but stare at their hands. He was so tired. “I thought you were going to say, ‘get out of this alive.’” The dry sensation in his eyes was starting to bug him again. “Right. Not getting out of this ever, am I? Keep forgetting.” Damn his emotions. Damn everything. “I feel like this problem has lasted a decade. I can’t believe it hasn’t even been a week yet, since you found out about her.”

“We can’t predict the future, but we know that nothing lasts forever, right?” Erwin let go of his hands. They weren’t shaking anymore. “So.”

“So?”

“Want to drop Mikasa off at my apartment? I know it sounds ridiculously forward considering how long I’ve known you. But I really do think you could use a little peace of mind. Even for just one day.”

Levi thought about it. Or tried to. “What comes after quitting my job and working for Hanji? Full-time, I guess? I can’t be that useful. I don’t know anything about genetics.”

“Just being a clone will be useful to them, and especially to Hanji, trust me.”

“She’ll find out about my, well, my non-issue, eventually.”

“Yes, but you’ll act like you didn’t have a clue that was important, then be perfectly glad that it will help move the project along. You’ll become _extra_ useful since you’re different, and if we highlight those differences, everyone will become too distracted to realize Mikasa exists.” Erwin leaned forward again, looking a little more hopeful. “You’ll be convincing when you promise you’ve never gotten anyone pregnant, and no one will have any reason to doubt you by then. The people pulling the strings in the corporation will just want you to keep cooperating with Hanji, and you will.”

“And Mikasa will be…”

“Wherever she’s safest. Whether that’s with you or someone else you trust.”

Levi wanted to believe any of it could be a viable plan. But there were just so many doubts…

“Well. I can’t think of a better plan so…” Levi said quietly. He shrugged flippantly, leaning back in his chair, then standing up. “You’re right. Let’s see what happens. Thanks. I’ll, uh—I’ll drop her off.” He turned and walked two steps before turning back. “I don’t have your address.”

Erwin was already holding up a piece of paper. When had he written that? Before their conversation? Earlier?

He took the note and looked up. “You’re not doing this out of guilt are you?”

Erwin looked taken aback for a moment, but then he smiled uncertainly. “I would be lying if I said that wasn’t part of the reason.”

“What’s the other part?”

Erwin didn’t answer right away. His expression was conflicted. Levi wondered what he was thinking.

Then Erwin’s face smoothed over and he said, “I wanted an excuse to meet Mikasa. Be careful on the roads with all this rain.”

 

><><><

 

Levi checked the address one final time, then knocked on the apartment door. He knew it should feel wrong, leaving his kid in the hands of someone he’d known less than a month. But it didn’t feel wrong, and he knew why.

When Erwin opened the door, his eyes went immediately to Mikasa, who stood politely holding her father’s arm.

“Hello. You must be Mikasa Ackerman.” He kneeled to her level and held out his hand. “I’m Erwin Smith. Pleased to make you acquaintance.”

Levi made a “what the hell” face at Erwin, but he was ignored. “And you, Mr. Smith, sir,” his daughter answered haltingly, shaking Erwin’s big hand with her tiny one.

Levi stared down at them in shock.

“I think ‘sir’ is hardly necessary,” Erwin said, “but thank you. You may call me Erwin. May I call you Mikasa?”

She nodded vigorously. Erwin stood and smirked, “Oh, hello to you too, Mr. Ackerman. What’s with that face? Come in.”

Levi wanted to glare, but just couldn’t. He ushered Mikasa inside the apartment, setting her suitcase by the door. “I told her the plan for staying here,” Levi said. He mouthed to him, _ask._

Erwin blinked at him, nodded slightly, then looked back at Mikasa. “Would you like something to drink?”

A few minutes later, the three of them were at Erwin’s kitchen table. Mikasa was drinking water from a plastic cup Erwin had and the adults were drinking something stronger. Erwin’s place was not quite as fancy as Daniel’s, no high ceilings or big windows. But it was somehow more mature. Levi hadn’t expected someone as young as Erwin to live so plainly when money wasn’t an issue. But it was still nice. Clean—Levi didn’t miss that it was very clean.

“So, Mikasa, what kinds of things has your dad said about me?”

“He said you’re gonna my supervisor,” Mikasa said confidently, sitting like a businesswoman in her chair. Only cross-legged.

“Your what?” Erwin asked. He glanced at Levi, but Levi’s face was carefully blank.

“Daddy said I can be whatever I want when I grow up, so I want to be a scientist and make potions.” She twirled some hair into her mouth. “But he said I have to have an supervisor to help me so I don’t accidentally get poisoned.”

Erwin’s eyes were wide, his smile odd. “Oh. And he recommend me?” Mikasa nodded and hummed. “How considerate. I hope I can live up to your standards.”

Levi wondered if Mikasa had a clue what he was saying—if she didn’t, she didn’t show it. Erwin pointed to a door across the room. It had a neatly cut piece of paper on it, reading _Mikasa_. “Well, Mikasa, your room is all ready for you. Go make yourself at home while your dad and I discuss all the boring details of your new practice.”

Mikasa jumped out of the chair and hurried to her room. There was a squeal of delight and she shut the door behind herself.

Levi stared at the closed door. “Why…why are you…”

“I’m talking to her like a scientist. That’s what she wants to be, right?”

“But at the door—”

“Talking to her like a big girl, of course. I only knew one thing before meeting her: that she would be smart. I was right, of course.” Erwin expression went from smug to something else. “Supervisor? Does she believe that?”

Levi shrugged. “I don’t know. I think so, or maybe she’s just humoring me. Either way, she’s definitely gonna make plans to manipulate you into doing things I won’t let her do.” He tried to smile, but it didn’t work. “I just…I knew I couldn’t tell her the truth, so I pulled something out of my ass.”

“Not giving yourself credit again,” Erwin said, shaking his head. “I think it’s a great cover.”

“Cover?” Levi scoffed. “No. You’ll be her supervisor, or this plan is off.” He couldn’t hide his smirk. “I told her that you would get her all the ingredients she needed for whatever potion she can think of. Within reason. She’s been obsessed for the last few weeks and I feel bad all she’s been using is Kool Aid, jello, water, and ice. Sometimes whipped cream, if she behaves.”

“Really?” Erwin tilted his head.

“There are worse hobbies.”

“How do you recommend I keep her from testing more experimental ‘potions’?”

Levi rolled his eyes. “Well don’t buy her Windex. Get her ingredients for a milkshake or something. She can follow a recipe. She’ll like that.”

“I can do that.”

Levi could feel Erwin’s eyes burning his skin. It was making it very difficult to look up from the table, away from the window, back from the little door sign saying _Mikasa_. “I also told her that I’m going to get a new job soon, and that all the babysitters are on vacation, so…” He kept staring at Mikasa’s name on the door. His voice fell to a mutter. “She’ll…stay here for a while.”

“You’re doing the best you can do.”

Levi felt a sudden flash of anger. He turned and snapped, “I know that. You don’t need to say it.”

Erwin said nothing, but he didn’t break eye contact either.

Levi did. “Sorry,” he muttered. “Things have just been tense. Obviously. Thank you, for this. For, uh, for everything.”

“Don’t mention it.”

The rain still pattered on the streets outside, but the worst of the storm was over. “What’s in there?” Levi asked, nodding at Mikasa’s door. “She seemed excited.”

“Well, my guest bed isn’t really suitable for a six-year-old, so I fixed up something more her size.”

Levi laughed, “Like what? A fort?”

“Yeah, exactly.”

Levi’s smile froze. “Wait, really? We used to make those before I could afford to—we used to make those.” Levi looked at the floor and felt his face burn. At least Erwin kept his lights rather dim.

“Are you working tonight?” Erwin asked.

Levi shook his head. “I, uh, don’t work on Saturdays. But I have shifts the rest of the week.” He really didn’t want to talk about it, but he figured he might as well now. “Just so you know, it’s probably going to take me longer to phase out of my job than you think,” he said in a rush. Levi thought about Mikasa and outstanding debts and the rent and himself and everything else he had to reluctantly pay for. “It might be as many as eight months until I can quit. Nine at the most.” Hearing himself say the words was even worse than thinking them. “I know that’s way too long for me to expect you—”

“No, don’t think about that,” Erwin said. “I don’t mind. Circumstances may change, or they may not, but you can trust me to be flexible. Remind me to give you a key before you leave. Actually—you know, if you’re not working…” Erwin trailed off. “I’m sure Mikasa would like it if you stayed a little while longer.”

 

The fort was impressive, although not quite as fortress-level as Mikasa and Levi were used to. He hadn’t brought any of her children’s books to read to her, but as it turned out, Mikasa was the one entertaining him and Erwin. She listed off potions she wanted to make, recited sing-song mnemonics she learned in school. They played the opposite game, and Mikasa tricked them with things that didn’t actually have opposites. Levi hadn’t forgotten to pack coloring books, though, so Mikasa started a drawing competition—she won every round fair and square. Erwin knew how to draw a star, which greatly impressed Mikasa, and she spent a while just practicing the five criss-crossing strokes while Levi and Erwin talked about mundane things like apartments and the city.

Levi looked down at Mikasa, who was fast asleep among her own blankets and Mickey Mouse and Erwin’s linens and pillows. “I guess I better go.”

“It’s pretty late. You didn’t take the subway, did you?”

“No, I drove. I try to keep Mikasa off the subway when I can.”

They both left Mikasa’s room and paused at the entrance to the apartment.

Levi cleared his throat. “Thanks again, Erwin. I’d hate for her to come home and no one’s there.”

Erwin gave him an incredulous look. “Levi. You can’t think like that. You’ll drive yourself insane.”

“Hopefully this is all being blown out of proportion, huh?” Levi pressed his lips together. The words felt like ash on his tongue.

“I’ve been tiptoeing around people at Headquarters for years now, and I’m still hoping.”

Levi’s hand was on the doorknob, but didn’t feel in a rush to get home. Erwin didn’t appear to be in a rush to see him out. “What’s next on Hanji’s schedule?” Levi asked.

“It’s going to take another week or so to get results on her brain exams, and that’s with them as a priority. I recommend just doing what you usually do she contacts you.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Levi said. “Do you mind if I come over tomorrow to visit her?”

“Oh, the key! Of course.” Erwin backtracked to the kitchen and returned with a ring of two identical keys. He quickly twisted one off and handed it to Levi. “Come over whenever. You don’t have to ask in advance.”

“You’re very trusting,” Levi said, lifting an eyebrow. _I feel like I’ve known you for years,_ he wanted to say.

“You’re trusting me with your kid; my house is hardly equivalent.”

Levi opened the door. “While you apartment is nice, you’re right.”

“So I’ll drive her in the morning and…”

“I should still be able to pick her up,” Levi said, nodding once. “I rarely work afternoons. Usually only when someone needs their shift taken.”

“Sounds good.” Erwin grinned. “Have a good night.”

Levi gave him a small wave and turned down the hall.

Yes, Levi knew exactly why leaving Mikasa with Erwin didn’t feel wrong.

It was because all he felt was trust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments keep me writing :)


	4. Chapter 4

The next day was a train wreck. 

_“The authorities say the subway B-Train closed after reporting technical difficulties three stations before the end of the line, requiring all passengers to exit. The train was recorded empty at the time of the unexpected crash, and no bodies were found in the wreckage. However, the subterranean power systems have been damaged enough to constitute a complete shutdown of the lines for at least two days.”_

The article on Levi’s phone went on and on with witness reports and descriptions of the timeline spanning from the previous evening to that morning. Before now, he always felt uneasy at the idea of taking Mikasa near the stations for fear of getting separated or encountering unsavory characters that would scar Mikasa for life. 

Now, he vowed to never take her there at all, even if gas went up another dollar per gallon. 

As if shock of the crash wasn’t enough, another manager from work got pneumonia and couldn’t come in. Levi owed him one from a bad head cold back in January, so he got to the grocery at noon. He texted Erwin about it, promising he hadn’t been lying about rarely working afternoons. So much for visiting Mikasa. At least Erwin was understanding. 

_Did you hear about the subway crash?_

Their text conversation didn’t carry on for long, since Sunday afternoons were busy as all hell at the store. 

While on break, he read a text Hanji sent him an hour ago.

_Do you mind coming in for a follow up?_

Already? Levi replied and she scheduled him to come in at ten the next morning. One step at a time, Levi reminded himself. Why did those steps have to be _closer_ to the problem? Just how cooperative was he going to have to be? Damn Erwin’s logic. 

The afternoon shift flowed right into his typical one. By the time Levi started to his car, he was hardly seeing straight. 

  


><><><

  


“Your boss isn’t expecting you to keep covering this guy until he’s gets better, right? What if he’s sick for weeks?” 

It was another ugly, rainy Saturday evening. It wasn’t like Levi was willing to be seen with Mikasa in a public anymore, anyway, lest someone recognize him. But she didn’t seem to have have any interest going out, judging from the intensity she was adding fruit to Erwin’s blender.

“My boss doesn’t pay attention to who works when,” Levi said, leaning against the kitchen counter, “as long as somebody’s working all the shifts. The third manager, she never misses a day and never covers for anyone else. I don’t bother with her. But it doesn’t matter, more hours means quitting sooner.”

“I don’t know—this is a little extreme.” Erwin turned just in time to save Mikasa from pouring in the milk by the entire carton. “Not too much milk, or it won’t taste good. Just a cup.” 

“I’m used to it,” Levi said. 

“Are you used to fifteen, sixteen-hour shifts everyday? And Hanji’s tests on top of that?”

Erwin was right, Levi knew that. The last time he looked at himself in a mirror, it hadn’t been pretty. If he weren’t so tired, he might even be embarrassed to be seen like this. But felt like he hadn’t seen Mikasa in an eternity. Had it only been a week? Either way, it was the longest he had been separated from Mikasa since reuniting with her. 

But even now he was too tired to do much more than watch Mikasa enjoy herself. Erwin had told him to go sleep a dozen times since he walked through the door, but Levi was too tired to be sensible.

“You can sleep on the guest bed, you know,” Erwin tried again. 

Levi ignored him, again. “What are you guys making?” 

For some reason, Mikasa gave him a weird look. So did Erwin. “You asked that already,” he said. “Fruit smoothie.” 

“Berry Healing Potion!” Mikasa corrected.

“Right,” Erwin said. He took Levi’s elbow and forced him toward the guest room, Mikasa’s room. “Half a cup of plain yogurt, Mikasa, and don’t touch the blender. You dad’s going to rest for a while.” 

“Daddy’s tired,” she sing-songed. 

Levi fell asleep before he hit the bed. 

  


He woke up to Mikasa’s big dark eyes and the smell of something fruity. 

“Wake up, daddy. I have healing potion for you.”

Levi sat up a little and glanced around. Erwin was no where to be seen.

“Daaaaddy. Try it,” Mikasa whined, holding up a plastic blue cup. He took it from her and took a sip.

It might have just been because he was starving, but the smoothie was excellent. Levi hummed in approval, taking a second sip. “You made this?”

She smiled widely. “I picked out the berries and everything.”

Levi nodded absently, drinking, letting his mind wake up…

Then he froze. “You what?”

Levi jumped out of bed, startling Mikasa, and stalked out. Erwin was on the couch with his laptop, eyes focused intently on the screen. Levi turned back and said to Mikasa in a soft voice, “Can you stay in the fort for a few minutes?” Then he closed the door. 

“You took her out,” Levi said. “Like…out?”

Levi’s voice was frantic enough for Erwin to slowly set his work aside. “Yes.”

“But—”

“It shouldn’t make a difference, should it?” Erwin said calmly, looking at Levi. “I can say she’s my niece, and her parents are away on business. No big deal.”

Levi nearly stomped over to him. “It could be if someone wonders why her parents are always on business. Or if Cameron or Daniel sees you and wonders why the hell Mikasa looks more like _him_ than her so-called uncle?”

There was a pause. Then, out of no where, Erwin smiled. “Didn’t you just get up? How are you even thinking this clearly right now?”

“I’m _fine_ ,” Levi hissed. “You should have at least asked. I know I’m to blame for being crazy enough to put my own daughter in the hands of a…nearly a stranger, but…” Levi rubbed his face in his hands, and his mind took that moment to turn off again. “How long did I sleep?” He looked out the window. “It’s morning.”

“It’s almost lunchtime. I told Mikasa she could wake you up—she’s been dying to have you try that smoothie. It’s pretty good isn’t it? All I did was press the blend button, really.” 

Levi sat on the other side of the couch and glanced at the dark flat screen above the fireplace mantle. Then at the blinds allowing light to stream in from the windows along the wall. He did feel a little better. “It was. And you’re right, I…can’t keep her inside forever.”

He stared ahead even as Erwin said, “And _you’re_ right, I should have asked. I just feel like I’ve known you for so long, it honestly didn’t even occur to me. But that’s a dumb excuse. I’m sorry.”

Levi’s eyes flashed to Erwin’s. Then he looked away again and stood. “I’ll, uh…I’ll get Mikasa out of your hair for a few hours. I’m sure you need the space. I’ll take her to…somewhere out of town or something.” 

Erwin turned as if to reply, but his phone buzzed on the arm of the couch. He looked at the text. “A Sunday, Hanji? Really?” 

Levi’s hand was on the knob of Mikasa’s door when Erwin called, “Levi, wait a second. Hanji knows.” 

There was silence. “Knows what?” Levi asked quietly. 

“She knows you’re different. She’s convinced you’re the original.” 

Another step closer, Levi thought. 

  


><><><

  


The rest of Levi’s Sunday was spent worrying. So, nothing new. Erwin implored him to find someone to fill in for the afternoon shift, but Levi wouldn’t give in. He wanted the distraction. He didn’t want to worry around Mikasa and make her worry, too. 

The night shift afterward was especially long. Levi went over what Erwin said about his conversation with Hanji a hundred times: She pieced some of the follow-up test results together and found patterns that made her wonder; she ran some hypotheticals with Levi as the original and a lot checked out positive; she wanted to run a test to confirm whether or not Levi was fertile; she would call Levi the next day. 

If Hanji was confident enough with her conclusions, Erwin warned, she would bring them to her bosses, who would send them to their bosses…These high-ups would almost certainly take an interest in Levi and want more information. Erwin told Levi to be prepared for more tests—ones much less simple and painless. Levi was grateful Erwin hadn’t described any possibilities in detail. His job wasn’t distracting enough for those thoughts swirling around in his head. 

This was the time to give them everything they want, Erwin explained. He had to be as cooperative as possible, present himself as anything but a threat, not suspicious in the slightest, little-to-no interest in the project beyond his compensation. He had to present himself as someone they could trust. 

Someone simple. Someone easily used.

It seemed to be simultaneously the easiest and most difficult front Levi had ever been forced to build.

He walked out to his car after his final shift ended and checked his phone. Hanji had called him, twice. “Can’t wait until tomorrow, huh?” Levi grumbled. “Well I can.” 

  


Levi slept in four hours later than usual that Monday morning, knowing he couldn’t function on anything less. By the time he rolled out of bed and got dressed, he had seven missed calls: one from the sick manger, two from Erwin, and four from Dr. Hanji Zoe. Levi was resentful and nervous enough to put Hanji off a little while longer. 

The voicemail from his co-worker was music to his ears: He was better, and going to work his normal shifts starting today. Erwin’s voicemail was more disappointing, just telling him to call Hanji since she was freaking out about being unable get in contact with him. 

Levi dialed her.

“Hi!” she said on the first ring. “Hi, thanks for calling me back. I don’t know if you got my message yesterday, but I really would like for you to come in as soon as possible. I have some developments even _you_ might be interested in hearing about.”

Levi wanted to correct her and say, no, he definitely wasn’t interested, but he agreed to come in that afternoon since he didn’t have work. 

The doorbell rang, and Levi hung up with Hanji on good, non-suspicious terms. Levi wondered who the hell was ringing his doorbell. It better not be some dumb solicitor. Or maybe it was Erwin; Levi had given him his address recently just in case. 

He opened the door, and stopped breathing.

Three men stood on his step, all dressed in expensive business wear. “Levi Ackerman?” said the bald man leading the pack. He was huge, tall and wide, emitting intimidating like a stink—or maybe that was his strong cologne. He smiled as if he couldn’t quite remember how. His beady eyes bored into Levi.

“My name is Wilson Fisk, chief executive officer of Fisk Incorporated. These are my associates, board member Mark Rollins,” He gestured first to a thin, pale man no older than Levi, although his gaze possibly the most piercing of them all, “and Dr. Aldous Leekie.” Fisk gestured to the man on his other side, who was also bald, but noticeably older. His face seemed slightly kinder, although his smile was no more genuine than Fisk’s. 

Levi nodded to each of them, trying to ignore the painful pounding of his heart. “Nice you meet you. Come in.”

He led them inside, trying not to be overcome with panic. Had he left anything of Mikasa’s sitting out? Anything that might betray him as a working father? What if they went into Mikasa’s room? The Mickey Mouse bedspread wouldn’t be easy to explain away. What if—

Wilson Fisk sat down in his armchair while the other two men sat on his couch. They didn’t seem to notice that Levi had no where to sit. Fisk took out an old-fashioned cigarette case and lighter. He slid a cigarette in his mouth, then held out the case to Levi. “Care for one?”

His brain must have been working halfway, because Levi managed not to hesitate. “Yeah, thanks.” He borrowed the lighter and took a drag. He hadn’t done this since before Mikasa was born.

“So, Levi, I am hoping you are just as much a fan of Dr. Zoe as the rest of us. She’s done incredible work.” Fisk’s voice was low and halting. He enunciated every word.

Levi shrugged. “Can’t say I understand anything she does, but she’s fun to work with. All I know is that it takes someone pretty amazing to track down so many…” He smiled awkwardly. “Clones. I guess.”

Fisk laughed and the other two men laughed with him. It was utterly artificial. “This is a strange business we have gotten ourselves into, is it not?” Fisk mused. “A business project, more precisely. I took it over from my father five years ago. He had been searching fifteen years long for two matching cards in a deck of billions, so when Dr. Zoe came along, who knew how to play the game best _and_ had the right card, she was like a big break and a miracle combined.” 

Levi nodded, holding a little too tightly to his cigarette. “She’s a character.”

The men laughed again. “That she is,” Fisk said. “And from what she has reported to us, you might be our next big break miracle.”

“What do you mean?” Levi asked, shifting his weight nervously. 

The older doctor leaned forward. He spoke much quicker. “She didn’t tell you?”

“She asked for me to come into the lab this afternoon,” Levi said. “She sounded worked up over the phone, but…”

“I hope she will not mind if we break the news,” Fisk said, grinning in his odd, unsure way. “But when we say you could be the next big break with the clone project, we do not mean that lightly. It is probably been difficult for you to keep up with, but our project has several facets. Dr. Zoe and her work to reconstruct the clone genome is just one. However, all these faucets originate back to the corporation’s primary goal of discovery and application, so the connections between them are important. For other work to make progress, Dr. Zoe has to make progress. Does that make sense?”

Levi nodded slowly, even though Fisk might has well have been reading him one of Mikasa’s bedtime stories. 

Fisk gave Leekie an expectant look, and Leekie cleared his throat. “If Dr. Zoe’s hypothesis are correct, you will help the whole project take several steps forward. She strongly suspects you are the first of the clones, the ‘original’ as we label it.” 

Levi twisted his expression into one of hard thinking. “The what?”

“The original,” Dr. Leekie said more slowly. “We’ve never believed that the genome—and by that I mean the clone DNA—was designed from scratch. There had to have been an original—” 

Levi held up a hand, taking another drag. “I’ll stop you now, if that’s alright. I’m not ashamed to admit that your science is lost on me. Listen, I’m interested. I want to help—”

“We understand,” said the young man, Rollins. His voice was as suave and icy cold as his demeanor. “And we want to help _you_ , as well.” 

“I do not mean to be rude,” Fisk interrupted, “but how do you make a living, Mr. Ackerman?”

Levi tried to look embarrassed. It was a challenge, given he was both irate and scared shitless. “Uh…”

But Fisk held up a hand after before Levi could say anything. “You know what? It is inconsequential. We would like you to work for us. It will be easier for Dr. Zoe to have you around more consistently, and the pay will very fair, I assure you.” His grin widened, making Levi’s skin crawl.

“I don’t know what to say,” Levi said, making a show of his humility. “I’m sorry, but I—I don’t have a degree…”

Fisk dismissed him with a wave. “We do not need any more scientists,” he said, chuckling. “We need to give our scientists something worthwhile to work with. And the most worthwhile thing we’ve come up with in a while is you, Mr. Ackerman.” 

Levi didn’t miss how he had just been referred to as a ‘thing’. He didn’t miss Rollins and Leekie’s eyes roaming around his townhouse, either. Levi resisted the urge to wipe his forehead of sweat, or check to make sure there was nothing damning for them to see. Luckily, they didn’t seem very interested in a tour. 

“Do you have a _lady_ friend, Mr. Ackerman?” 

The way Fisk said it brought a very real blush to Levi’s face. “Uh…” 

Then it hit him—an idea that could serve as an integral part of his cover. 

“I…don’t.” Through his tone, Levi tried to privately convey what he meant to the man getting his cologne all over his armchair.

But Fisk just looked confused. “Your file said you did,” he blurted. 

Dunces, both Fisk and himself, Levi thought. He waved his cigarette a little. “ _Did_. She didn’t work out. Girls, uh, tend not to work out for me.” 

The confusion in Fisk’s eyes cleared. He nodded, looking slightly disappointed. He put on another grin and asked, “No little ones, then? Living with a mother, perhaps?”

Levi’s blood turned to ice. He coughed halfway through his drag. “No. God, no.” He huffed, his smile a little hysterical. 

“Hm. I see.” Fisk’s considering look made Levi want to run off and lock Mikasa in a basement somewhere Fisk would never find her. 

Fisk’s disappointment was gone as soon as it appeared. “No problem, no problem. So what do you say? Would you like to take us up on the offer? Mr. Rollins and Dr. Leekie here want very much to work with you.” The two men nodded once in unison.

Levi reminded himself that what _he_ wanted didn’t matter anymore. He held out his hand and took a step forward. Leekie stood to shake it, then Rollins. Finally, Wilson Fisk took Levi’s hand in a firm grip. Levi noticed something: While Erwin inevitably looked down on him, Fisk looked _down_ at him. 

“I look forward to seeing what you bring to the project. Thank you, Mr. Ackerman.”

They quickly shuffled their way to the door and Fisk added, “Mr. Rollins and Dr. Leekie will be in contact soon, directly or through Dr. Zoe. Have a great rest of your day.”

“When do I start?” Levi asked without thinking.

Fisk smiled, slightly more genuinely than before. There was an excited glint in his eyes, if Levi wasn’t mistaken. 

“Now.”

  


><><><

  


From where he sat slumped against the front door, Levi squinted at the microwave’s digital clock. He had to be at Hanji’s lab in an hour. It took half an hour to get there. 

He wasn’t sure how long he had been sitting against his door. He didn’t want to move. He wasn’t sure if he could. His phone was all the way on the other side of the kitchen, and Levi couldn’t bring himself to go get it and call…whoever. His first instinct was the police, but that was ridiculous. His next was to call Erwin to make sure Mikasa was okay, but what if his phone was tapped now? Did that come as a part of being an employee at Fisk Incorporated, or was Levi turning into a paranoid nutjob already? 

Eventually, he forced himself to get up. He wasn’t sure he had the strength to speak clearly, so he texted Erwin what happened in the blandest terms he could manage. 

Erwin replied quickly. _Great news on getting hired. Congrats! Hanji asked me to come in this afternoon for your testing since Daniel has obligations at the university he can’t skip. Need a ride?_

Levi only processed the last bit. _Yes, thanks._

  


Erwin’s car was just as understated and clean as his apartment. Levi stared out the front windshield, seeing nothing. Erwin glanced at him anxiously every few seconds. The first minute of the drive, he had been silent, but Erwin apparently couldn’t hold out longer than that. “If I thought that there was even the smallest chance—”

“It’s over,” Levi interrupted. “Nothing happened. They probably won’t come again, but I’ll clean out my house as soon as I can. You don’t think they have people spying on the clones, do you? On me?”

“No, of course not,” Erwin said, but he couldn’t keep the doubt out of his voice.

“No? What’s with the ‘congrats’ text then?”

Erwin pursed his lips. “Alright, so maybe I was thinking the same thing about spying. I was…slightly panicked. I never expected anyone to come to your _home_. Christ.” He breathed in and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “But no, I know I’m right. They don’t have any reason to waste resources on spying on you, not yet anyway. Anton Golubev suspected he was being watched, but that was after he was already knee-deep in suspicion.”

Levi didn’t have the energy to speak the litany of curses crossing his mind. “So much for small steps,” he muttered. 

“Are you going to put in a two-week notice?”

“I guess. Fisk said I start now.” Levi turned his head to Erwin, who looked almost as shaken as he felt. “But this is what was supposed to happen. Right?”

Erwin sighed. “Well, yes. But not so soon. I guess everyone involved is eager to move things along. I’m sorry, Levi.”

“Don’t apologize,” Levi said.

“Tell me what happened.” 

Erwin’s eyebrows rose when Levi mentioned the part where Levi hinted at having the wrong sexuality for baby-making. “But they asked about kids anyway. Hopefully my denial was convincing enough.”

“More convincing now that you’ve thrown them off,” Erwin said curtly. “Nice thinking.” 

Levi glanced at him sideways, but Erwin’s expression was unreadable. “Well…” Levi said. “Not much more to it than that. They left saying they would be in contact, the other two guys anyway.”

“I don’t know much about Rollins or Leekie at all. I wasn’t even sure if Wilson Fisk was even involved with the project at all, but it’s obvious now. He keeps a low profile, always has. I’ll see if I can dig up anything on their parts in all this.” 

Levi ran out of things to say. They sat in silence for most of the drive over to the Research Center. The subway lines from his area to downtown would still be closed for another few days due to complications during the repairs—

“Who’s gonna pick up Mikasa if we’re both with Hanji?” Levi sat up straight, suddenly alert. 

Erwin glanced at him for a moment, then back to the road. “I can make an excuse about getting a late lunch for everyone. It’s a safe bet Hanji hasn’t eaten all day.”

“Getting lunch wouldn’t take that long,” Levi argued. 

Erwin gave him a look. “Hanji doesn’t notice these things, not when she’s at work. Don’t worry about it, alright? You can’t let yourself worry too much or someone will start to wonder what’s going on.”

“ _Thanks_ , Erwin. _That’s_ helpful.” Levi rubbed one hand over his eyes. Erwin was right; he couldn’t meet with Hanji acting like he could have a heart attack any second. “Mikasa can’t stay at your house by herself.”

“I can…” 

“No! _I_ need to do something. For once.” Levi hated how desperate he sounded, but there was nothing for it. 

“Levi—”

“Just let me think!” 

The only sound Levi heard was the hum of the engine and the city ambiance as they drew nearer to downtown. Levi needed to think of an excuse for Hanji when they got to the Research Center. “Just call me at around two-thirty, where no one will see you. I’ll pretend you’re someone else and say something came up at work. I’ll reschedule with Hanji.”

Erwin looked unsure. “There’s probably a simpler way we’re not thinking of.”

“I’m sure there always is.”

  


Levi didn’t want to be under some kind of anesthesia at the time he was supposed to leave, so he gave Hanji a heads up that he might get a call sometime after two from work, since there were apparently lot of absentees that day. She happily obliged to hurry things along, which meant getting a semen sample first thing. As if Levi’s day wasn’t already awful enough. 

So many other things had been on Levi’s mind that he completely forgot about one particular part of the semen sample process. But next thing he knew, was shut up in a room with a cup, and it was up to him to get the collection over with.

He had masturbated plenty of times in his life. It had never been particularly difficult if he just remembered his girlfriend when they were first together and happy or some dream girl he could put together in his head. Maybe it was stress, the weird context of the situation, or the knowledge total strangers were roaming around the building just on the other side of the door, but ten minutes passed with little progress, regardless of his increasingly indecent thoughts.

“Fuck,” he muttered aloud, feeling stupid and turned off and angry. “What the fuck.” Did other men get embarrassed doing something like this? Surely they did. For doing it too quickly? Or taking too long? The clock on the small room’s wall wasn’t helping by reading 2:15. 

Sex, Levi thought. Just think about sex. But his mind, useless as it was, decided to do what it had been doing all day: circling back to his unnerving conversation Wilson Fisk. 

_Think about sex,_ Levi shouted to his mind. That shouldn’t be hard for any man, right? 

His mind replayed the part when he implied he wasn’t straight. 

Levi continued to force stereotypically arousing images of women into his mind’s eye, but after another few minutes of failure he found himself pondering if he would ever have to prove to Fisk that he wouldn’t be knocking up a girl anytime soon. Would dating a man help his cover? 

What that might entail brought a whole different slew of images into his mind’s eye. He thought of his time dating Mikasa’s mother and replaced her with the ambiguous shape of a male. Eating out, going to clubs, hanging out at his shabby townhouse when he first started renting it. 

As he kept absently stroking himself, his mind couldn’t uphold something ambiguous; it betrayed Levi by replacing the anonymous man with someone he knew, someone who fit the stereotypical arousing image of a _man_ all too well. His memory co-conspired with reminders of stunning blue eyes and blonde hair, an athletic build, a height difference…But it was Levi’s imagination that did him in, taking the image and and running with it. 

Levi was only vaguely aware of the significance of what he was doing. All he could feel was relief that he was making progress now. Soon enough, there was only arousal. 

One image after the next, physical sensations accompanying each one. Levi’s body getting the attention it hadn’t gotten in years. Levi giving a kind of attention he hadn’t given in even longer. A body of someone clearly out of his league, but eyes that said _Levi_ was the prize. 

Just moments ago, he thought release was going to be an effort, but now it felt like it approaching all too soon…

  


He didn’t even wait for 2:30 to follow the plan. As soon as he saw Hanji again, he said he got a call from work and had to leave. She was a little bewildered, but didn’t mind. Levi didn’t know what Erwin’s expression had been. On the way out of the lab, Levi couldn’t so much as make eye contact with him. 

On the way to Mikasa’s elementary school, he couldn’t stop thinking about him despite every effort not to. The carpool line was at its worst when he finally arrived. The sitting and waiting gave him too much time to relive the experience over and over. 

The car’s back door opened. “Daddy!” 

Levi turned around, briefly wondering why she sounded so excited, but then he realized he hadn’t picked her up from school in a while. “Hey!” he said with as much false cheer as he could muster. 

Mikasa buckled herself in before he could even reach back, and one of the carpool helpers closed the car door behind her. Another blink, and he was already holding up the line.

Levi ran out of things to ask about Mikasa’s day at school by the time he merged into highway traffic. As if she knew he was avoiding them, Mikasa took the opportunity to ask him some questions. 

“Are you picking me up again now?” 

“Yes, I think so. Remember how I said my friend at work got sick and I had to help him? He’s better now.”

“Oh. Okay.” 

Her tone of voice prompted Levi to look at her through the rear-view mirror. “What’s wrong?” 

She squirmed in her booster seat. “But Erwin’s car can play _stories_.” 

“Play wh—oh.” Fuck Erwin in his nicer car. 

Fuck Erwin _and_ his nicer car. 

Actually, just damn him. To hell or something. 

Levi tried to keep his focus on the road. “I’m sorry, Mickey. My car can play CDs too, but all I have is music.” 

He and Mikasa shared some more of her smoothie when they get to Erwin’s apartment. Levi felt weird cooking her something from what he could find in Erwin’s pantry. And even weirder rummaging through Erwin’s cabinets searching for painkillers. 

When he finally sat down to relax until Erwin got back from Hanji’s lab, he realized he had a text waiting from the man of the hour. 

_Hanji’s excited you’re fertile. She’s already moved on to other data._

Levi sighed silently in relief. A kind of creepy text, but it was still good news. He replied: _Mikasa likes your car better. Where did you find audiobooks for kindergartners?_

_I didn’t. It’s some adult thriller I bought ages ago. I don’t even know the name. Mikasa can’t stand the radio so I was desperate._

Levi smiled. _She’s always been like that. I play my own music when I can’t get her to talk. Never thought about a book._

_I should be back around ten, hopefully sooner._

Erwin’s hours had coincided well with Mikasa’s school hours so far—discounting his marathon workdays like this one. What the hell were they going to do when Mikasa was out for the summer and they were both working at Fisk Incorporated full-time? Just stick her in camp after camp after camp? What if Erwin’s friends paid a surprise visit? What if someone from work did, like what happened to Levi? 

Erwin sent him another message: _There are recipes in the far left drawer if she gets antsy. Don’t let Mikasa see._

Curious, Levi got up and found the drawer. Mikasa was in her fort playing with Mickey and the new Minnie Erwin bought her without Levi’s permission. He found an unlabeled manila folder under some stamps and other miscellaneous things. Inside that was a stack of print outs held together by a binder clip.  The official milkshake and smoothie recipe names were blacked out, and new names were written above in pen. Levi’s brow furrowed as he examined page after page. He felt his heart rate pick up slightly.

_The Purple Potion, Blooming Flower Elixir, Magic Booster, Cloud Potion, Luck of the Lion, Mickey’s Master Medley…_

Levi couldn’t look at any more after Mickey. He shut the folder back into the drawer and fell into the closest chair at the table. 

What was he doing? What had he done? Had Levi just stumbled upon the babysitter of the century or was this something completely different? 

His conversation with Erwin at the coffee shop resurfaced in his mind. Erwin said himself he was bisexual. Levi hadn’t thought about it too much. Or at least, he thought he hadn’t. Just that afternoon in the lab’s private room—It was as if his subconscious had been thinking about Erwin a hell of a lot more than he consciously had. How did that make sense? How did he make it stop? 

Because wasn’t that inappropriate? Erwin was doing so much to help him, it just seemed rude or obscene or… 

_You’re hands were shaking pretty hard._

_You’re not doing this out of guilt are you?_

_You’re doing the best you can do._

_I would be lying if I said that wasn’t a part of the reason._

_They’re only smart because you are, only attractive because you are._

_What’s the other part?_

Mikasa dashed into the room. “Daddy, you play Minnie, and I’ll play Mickey. We’re going on a mission to save Pluto!”

“Where’s Pluto?” Since when did she have Pluto?

Mikasa huffed. “In Erwin’s closet on the top shelf.”

Levi narrowed his eyes. “How did he get up there?”

She shrugged and started chewing on her hair. Levi held back a grin. “Doesn’t sound like Erwin wanted you to find that,” he muttered. Then to Mikasa he said, “If Pluto’s in Erwin’s room, he’s perfectly safe. But I’m sure we can find something else for Mickey and Minnie to do.” 

Perfectly safe. Probably safe. Mostly, maybe, hopefully safe.


	5. Chapter 5

Levi’s final two weeks at Good Foods Grocery were long and grating. Co-workers kept asking where he was going to work next, but he couldn’t exactly tell them the truth and not raise eyebrows. He made up some excuse about a downtown desk job that paid well. 

If his shifts crawled like tortoises, then the other parts of his life ran like gazelles, dashing off to some destination Levi couldn’t see. School was ending, his work at Fisk Incorporated was beginning. Summer was here.

His last day at work came and went without fanfare—it was still the late-shift. He got home, slept, woke, and took the subway over to Erwin’s since he couldn’t force himself give a damn if the subway was still dangerous. 

Erwin opened the door before Levi could take out his keys. Mikasa was right beside him in a purple getup, holding a clear travel cup of something equally purple. 

“Hey,” Erwin held the door open and Levi stepped inside, kneeling to give Mikasa a hug. “We were watching for you from the window. We’re very excited since it’s a special day.” 

Levi smirked. “Really?”

“Last day of work was yesterday—well, today, wasn’t it? Also, our resident scientist Mikasa has successfully brewed the Potion of Purple, so she wants to celebrate that, too. It took a few tries to get it up to snuff.”

“Celebrate?”

“Celelabrate!” Mikasa chimed in.

“I didn’t think you’d want to go out anywhere,” Erwin said, “so we picked out a movie and bought popcorn. And some other unhealthy things I couldn’t say no to.”

Levi raised his eyebrows. “Wow. Sounds like a party.”

“Yeah!” Mikasa said. “Because guess who’s coming!”

Levi frowned. “Who?” 

“Pluto!” 

Erwin looked slightly embarrassed, which made Levi smile. “I’ll be right back. I have to use the bathroom.”

Levi went to the bathroom next to the laundry room and closed door behind himself. He sucked in all the air he could and avoided looking in the mirror. “God,” he whispered.

Was this too much? Why was he feeling the urge to run away? Get it together, Levi told himself. Appreciate what you have, he thought. Appreciate how Erwin would do as much for her as you would. Don’t ruin that. If he wasn’t interested in Daniel, there’s no way in hell he’s interested in you, no matter how much you justify it in your head. Maybe he’s always wanted a daughter but won’t tell you that. Maybe he actually likes Cameron and—

“Daddy hurry up!”

“Mikasa, don’t bother him, help me set the table like an adult.”

Feeling younger than Mikasa, Levi sat on the closed toilet seat and lowered his head and elbows to his knees. He breathed out. Don’t fuck this up, he thought. You don’t have an alternative option ready for Mikasa, unless you want to ship her off somewhere indefinitely and wreck her life.

He left the bathroom and joined the “party.” 

  


The corporation’s headquarters was nice, but just as sterile as the Research Center. Everything was modern and sleek, a mix of efficiency and indulgence, and although the furniture was sparse, it was top quality.

The same style applied to Dr. Aldous Leekie’s office. He sat behind his cherry-wood desk while Mark Rollins and Levi faced him in plush armchairs on the opposite side. Rollins looked far more at ease than Levi, but then again, anyone would probably look more comfortable than Levi at that moment. 

“This is just a preliminary meeting,” Dr. Leekie said, adjusting his red tie. “Mark and I don’t usually meet together like this, since he’s on the board and I’m in the labs. But we want to discuss the things Fisk Incorporated is interested in pursuing, and that involves both of our sides of the situation.” 

“Situation?” Levi asked. 

“Fisk himself made it clear enough, didn’t he? You’re our most valuable clone yet. Especially after the test results Hanji Zoe has sent us this morning, we trust her conclusion that you’re most likely the original person the other clones were created from. If you wouldn’t mind, we’d like to go over your history sometime soon.”

“I—”

“Mark will be more thorough than Dr. Zoe,” Dr. Leekie interrupted. “It’s more his arena than hers.”

Levi looked from Rollins to Leekie and back again. “I thought Fisk wanted me for research, not a biography.” 

Rollins tilted up his chin. “Our research has a lot of room for interpretation, Mr. Ackerman.” 

Levi wanted to ask questions, but now wasn’t the time. “I can’t imagine what more I have to tell you,” he said. “But scheduling shouldn’t be a problem. My last day at my old job was last week.” 

Leekie flashed blindingly white teeth. “Excellent. Then you’ll have time for Mark to talk to you about compensation after I’ve said my piece, I assume.” 

“Sure, but, what is it exactly I’m being compensated for?” Levi asked. He consciously loosened his vice-like grip on the arms of his chair. 

“That is my piece. Fisk Incorporated had been accruing ideas for building upon the original clone project for decades.”

“Original project?”

“You don’t know? Well, the original project was simply to create the clones in the first place. But what good is that in an of itself? We want to make this feat useful to the world at large. We want to make a difference. A big difference.” 

Levi was beginning to wonder if this man had always been a scientist or if he had been a salesman at some point “And what difference does it make that I’m the ‘original’ as you call it?” 

Leekie chuckled. “You’re more interested than the last time we spoke.” 

Levi shrugged casually, but inside he was anything but unconcerned. “You didn’t mention saving the world last time we spoke.”

“Ah, perhaps not saving the world, but certainly improving it. Starting with seeing what made your genes different, fit for cloning, and figuring out just how we can optimize on your advantages. Then we want to observe your capabilities, given certain, carefully constructed liquid agents that should alter your abilities—for the better, of course.”

“What’s the point of that?” Levi couldn’t help but ask.

“These agents have been fine tuned for years and have finally been perfected. We are ready to apply them into the DNA of a person directly, but…” Leekie faltered for a half a second. “They have not yet arrived from our laboratories overseas. We will have to work around the delay for now.”

Levi tried to make himself look as clueless as possible. “So are you going to make more clones? Of other people?”

“More clones, yes. Of other people? No, not other people, Mr. Ackerman. We only need one original to tweak.”

“Tweak for what?” 

Leekie’s smile was less cheery this time. More sinister, if anything. If he had been a salesman, it wasn’t surprise that line of work didn’t work out. “A near infinitude of purposes, but that isn’t necessary for us to get into. I’ve probably told you more than I should already.” He chuckled again. Rollins gave Levi a tight grin.

“Anyway,” Leekie continued, “for the next few weeks, my team and I will be putting you through a series of tests. To…test your boundaries, so to speak. Some of them might be challenging, but nothing should have lasting damage. Unfortunately I can’t disclose any details at this time.”

Should? Levi hadn’t exactly had a good feeling about this in the first place, but now…

“The tests will take place every Monday and Thursday at ten a.m. in a specialized lab out of town. It’s a bit of a drive to get there, I’m afraid, but there won’t me much traffic outside downtown, at least. You are to come alone, you never to visit during non-scheduled hours, and you must follow any specific instructions we inform you of beforehand. And a final thing: What goes on at the Core Lab is strictly confidential. Do you understand?”

Levi nodded. Rollins leaned down and pulled papers out of a black briefcase.

“Those are the contracts and waivers,” Leekie said, “as well as the information on your salary and other forms of compensation. Wilson Fisk asked specifically to have you move closer to the Headquarters. All expenses paid.”

“Not the Research Center?”

Leekie shook his head. “You will not be working directly with Dr. Zoe and her associates any longer. If you would like to visit, feel free, but realize when we mean strictly confidential, we’re including any employees you don’t report to.”

“And I report to…”

“Me and my team, though you may consult Mark about anything you may have concerns about as well. And of course, if Wilson Fisk approaches you with questions, we expect you to answer honestly. Simple enough, don’t you agree?”

“Yeah,” Levi said, struggling to keep his expression neutral. “Yes, I agree. Very simple.”

“Good!” Leekie slapped his hands on the desk twice and stood. “I’ll leave you to Mr. Rollins, then, and he’ll give you contact information should you have any further questions. I’ll see you Monday.”

By the time Levi left the building, he had a new job, a new apartment, and a hundred new things to worry about.

  


><><><

  


Erwin and Cameron sat on Levi’s new couch while Levi stood by his new window overlooking a different side of downtown than Erwin’s windows did. They only lived eight miles away from Erwin now, but somehow Levi still felt like whole city had been split into two sides: the Research Center side and the Headquarters side. And he was alone.

“Damn,” Cameron said. “I can’t get over how nice this place is. I’m assuming your salary is off the charts, too?”

Levi didn’t turn to face them. “Off any of my charts. This place looks like a hotel suite, not an apartment someone would live in.”

“Well someone lives in it now, mess it up all you want!” Cameron’s tone had a sharp edge of bitterness. “You could probably pay to have everything replaced.” 

“Enough, Cameron,” Erwin said. 

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be a jerk. I’m mad _for_ you, Levi. Don’t you feel like you’re being bought out?”

“Of course I do,” Levi said. “I’m their property now, aren’t I? Close enough anyway. I’m surprised this place doesn’t have any bugs. You would think this place would be chalk full of them to serve as some kind of sick insurance for their confidentiality agreement or something.”

“You checked?” Cameron asked. 

“Levi and I have been through this place as thoroughly as possible. Check yourself.”

“I believe you, but shit. Make sure they keep trusting you then, Levi, because—”

“I know why,” Levi said. “I know very well why.” 

Levi had called Erwin to update him on what happened only for Cameron, who had been out on a lunch break with Erwin, to insist on getting a tour of his new place. 

“Levi.” It was Erwin’s voice.  

Levi ignored him. “They’ve offered to sell my townhouse, and I said yes. I didn’t want them to think it holds any sentimentality for me.” He finally turned and sat down on the second couch facing the first. The apartment couldn’t be much larger than Erwin’s, but it somehow felt enormous.

“Yeah, not much of a downside there, anyway,” Cameron said. “No rent to pay, must be nice.” Erwin gave him another sharp look, but Levi was too caught up in his own thoughts to care what Cameron said. 

There was a downside. It was sentimental. Levi didn’t _want_ to sell his house. It was a dump compared to his new place, but it felt enough like home that Levi didn’t mind the creaky floors and faulty wiring. More than that, he was in a completely different school zone now; Mikasa would have to deal with going to an elementary school without any of her friends next year.

Less than an hour later, Cameron decided to head out. Erwin stayed behind, despite Levi’s unsubtle hints that he needed some time to “settle in.” 

“Don’t give me that bullshit,” Erwin said. He walked around the coffee table to sit beside Levi. “Are you okay? I would ask what’s upsetting you, but there isn’t much _not_ to be upset about, is there?” 

He sounded so annoyingly, painfully, genuinely apologetic that Levi put aside his anger for a moment so he didn’t come off as an asshole. “There is one thing not to be upset about. They don’t know about Mikasa. I’m certain of it.” 

Erwin was quiet for a minute. “Do you want her to move in with you here?”

“What?” Levi met his eyes. “No! I mean…” He backtracked. “Who knows if Fisk or someone else will decide to knock again? Your place is definitely better. Assuming…that’s alright? If she stays?”

“It’s more than alright.” Erwin held up his wrist. Levi hadn’t noticed before, but he was wearing a purple yarn bracelet. It looked about as carefully braided as a smarter-than-average kindergartner could manage.  “You may be getting free housing, but I’m getting free jewelry.” 

Levi smiled halfway. “I’m jealous.” Then his heart lurched in his chest.

He would never be able to wear something Mikasa made, or display Mikasa’s art in the kitchen, or brag about her to strangers, or take her out in public anywhere within a hundred miles of the city without getting an ulcer from stress. He was confined to seeing her in Erwin’s apartment, and that was all. Not even in the car now, since he would almost always be driving in the city. 

“I won’t be able to pick her up from school anymore,” Levi added quietly.

“Don’t worry about it.” But they were empty words only meant to comfort, because what else was there to do? Erwin was already doing everything. 

Levi closed his eyes in defeat. They sat in silence until Levi couldn’t keep his thoughts to himself anymore. 

“I’m not even afraid about what ‘test your boundaries’ might mean. I’m just afraid sooner or later I won’t come back from whatever godforsaken work this is, and Mikasa will grow up wondering why I left her. Why the only person left to take care of her doesn’t even share—” Levi sat up abruptly. “Fuck. I’m an idiot. A complete idiot.”

“What?” Erwin leaned forward. “What do you mean?”

“We share a last name. Ackerman isn’t common, and if anyone made the connection, our appearances sure wouldn’t help any ‘coincidence’ excuse.” Levi nearly growled in frustration. “Her whole _identity_ revolves around her relationship to me—in her school files, her birth certificate—this isn’t just about hiding her anymore. If I want to protect her, she needs a whole new identity that can’t be traced to me.” 

Just when Levi thought life couldn’t get more complicated, it did, and in the worst ways. His eyes darted around the apartment that wasn’t really his and out the window at the city his daughter wasn’t safe in—and the stress was too much. Levi let his face fall into his hands, and for a moment, he was sure he would cry. But nothing came.

He sat up and tried to muster some resolve. “What do I do?” he asked Erwin. And himself.

“We’ll figure something out,” Erwin replied. “Whatever it takes. I… _do_ have an idea, but you may think it’s too extreme. You probably won’t like it.” 

“Tell me.”

“I could arrange to adopt her. Mikasa would start at a new school with my name. I’ll have her old records either destroyed or sealed. She’ll have a new backstory and I’ll tell strangers she was born out of the country. If anyone we know finds out, I’ll tell them I just adopted her recently because I wanted a kid, and I was too nervous to tell anyone. But that’s a last resort, because the primary goal is to keep her unknown to everyone at the corporation. I’ll tell them they aren’t allowed to meet her because I want to keep her away from everything work-related, including the people I work with.”

Levi stared at the floor, failing to understand how Erwin could be so forward-thinking. “You’ve thought about this for a while, haven’t you? Do you ever stop planning ahead? What about when she’s older?” 

“We’ll deal with that later. Mikasa’s smart. Really smart. She’ll cooperate.”

Levi took a deep breath. “Let me get this straight. You’re saying you’ll adopt her?” It sounded insane coming from his own mouth.

“I’m sorry, I can’t think of anything else—”

Levi held up his hand. His throat was tight. “No—I…I agree. I think it’s…a good idea.”

He felt like he was giving away the very clothes off his back. 

He felt lighter.

  


Unwilling to stay at his new apartment, Levi stayed the night at Erwin’s instead, in Mikasa’s room. He fell asleep wishing he could stay with her every night, but if he wanted to keep her safe, he would have to do the hard thing, and the hard thing would be living apart. Close, but still apart. He would visit as often as possible, Levi thought, he would still be her dad in all the way he could. 

Mikasa wouldn’t understand what would happen, probably not for a long time. What kind of story would he have to come up with this time to make this easy on her? He was drawing blanks. He ended up avoided saying anything, and Erwin followed his lead. Even as Erwin filled out the paperwork to adopt her. 

But by the time Monday rolled around again, he knew he couldn’t keep putting it off. 

At the breakfast table, Levi watched Mikasa eat. He wasn’t hungry; maybe he would eat something on the road. He finally got the address to the Core Lab and the drive was a little over an hour. At least affording gas would never be an issue again. 

Levi used to always think that if he just didn’t have to worry about money, his life would be golden. 

“Mikasa, I have something very important to tell you.” 

She looked up from her cereal for a moment. Erwin glanced over from the coffee machine. Levi cleared his throat. “You know how I got a new job, right? Well, believe it or not, I’m going to be…” He leaned forward, a grin on his face. “A secret agent.” 

Mikasa’s eyes grew wide, but she said nothing. 

“That’s right,” Levi said. “I’m going to be going undercover—for real. And I need _you_ to help me. You want to know how?” She nodded slowly. “Since I’m going to be a secret agent, I need you to keep me a secret. So you can’t talk about me at school or with your friends.”

The poor girl looked confused with her disheveled pajamas and messy hair and big eyes. Levi wanted to stop right there, but he had to get the hardest part out while he could.

“Mikasa, listen to me closely. You’re super smart, so I know you can understand. My job is going to be dangerous and I don’t want you to get hurt, so I’m going to be your secret dad. I don’t want a bad guy to get to you. Not that one will, but just in case.” Levi tried to slow down. This was essential. “You and Erwin are going to work together to help me stay a secret dad, alright? So you, Mikasa Ackerman, are going to be called Mikasa Smith from now on, and Erwin’s going to be your pretend dad. Does that sound too confusing?”

She was quiet for a few moments, looking from her father to Erwin and back again. “Are you going away?”

“No! No, Mikasa, I’m going to visit all the time. I just can’t have anyone know you’re my daughter because I want to protect you. And I want to protect you because I love you.” God, he should have had this conversation days ago, he thought. This was too heavy for breakfast. “You’re going to be the best secret daughter in the universe, okay? I know it. Maybe you’ll be a secret agent one day, too.” 

Mikasa thought about this. “Are there secret agent scientists?”

Levi grinned, but there was no happiness behind it. “Probably. If not, you’ll be the very first. Erwin and I want to help you do whatever you want to be happy.” 

The words flew above her head. “Erwin’s my pretend daddy now?”

“Yes, he’ll bring you to school next year. And to your camps this summer. Science camps.”

“Science camps?” Mikasa smiled, and it was so painfully innocent. At least Levi’s impressive salary would be good for one thing. 

“Yes. As many as you want. You and Erwin just have to remember to pretend that he’s your dad and you’re his adopted daughter. But I’ll be here for you as much as I can. Okay?” 

“A secret daddy!” Mikasa suddenly couldn’t stop giggling.

Levi couldn’t stop thinking that this was too hard. Just too hard. “Yes. It will be hard to remember to call yourself Mikasa Smith and write your name that way, but will you promise to practice?”

She nodded. “Mikasa Smith, Mikasa Smith, Mikasa Smith. That’s _easy_.” 

“You’re the smartest kid I know. Now I have to go to work, and I may not be back ‘till late. I know this is confusing and exciting, but it’s very important to remember not to tell anyone about this. You can talk to Erwin all you want, but not your teachers.” 

“Okay,” Mikasa said, going back to her cereal. Hopefully Levi had gotten through, because he had to leave soon or he would be late. 

“Bye, Mickey.” 

Erwin followed him outside the apartment door as Levi left. He closed it quietly behind him. “Good luck,” Erwin said. “If this career path doesn’t work out for you, you can always be a storyteller.” His smile was a mix of humor and worry. 

Levi shrugged. “What story? I’m going to be a secret agent, aren’t I? Get information from the bad guys, bring it over to the good guys.”

Erwin narrowed his eyes in confusion. “You shouldn’t—”

“Tsk. What? You think I’m actually going to keep whatever I’m doing a secret from you? I think I owe you more than that.” 

“You don’t owe me anything, Levi.”

Levi huffed and shook his head. “Please. I’m not sure how you came to that conclusion, but I don’t have time to argue. If you contact me, make sure it’s in code, alright? I know that sounds paranoid, but who knows what douchebag is paid to go through the lab rats’ personal belongings, right?” He started down the hall.

“Right. Levi?”

Levi turned, but Erwin did speak right away.

“Hang in there.”

“Thanks.” Levi kept his voice joking when he said, “Go get your daughter dressed, would you?” He hurried down the hall before Erwin could reply. For just a second, Levi’s face crumpled into despair. But just for a second. Nothing had truly changed in the past ten minutes. 

Yet he still felt like he was being torn apart.

  


><><><

  


If the Research Center was unwelcoming, then the Core Lab was about as friendly as a maximum security prison with Leekie as its warden. 

Levi’s steps echoed in the vast hallways. The building itself was absurdly large, and the layout made no sense. A hallway would lead to a small dining hall, leading to a longer hallway, leading to massive empty room with a ceiling at least four stories high. As Dr. Leekie gave him the tour, Levi wondered if he was disorienting him on purpose. 

It can’t be useful to be paranoid about every little thing, Levi thought. It’ll kill me. 

But then again, slipping up and trusting something or someone he shouldn’t would get him killed, too. He remembered the other clones, lost or dead. How many more were there that Cameron and Erwin didn’t know about? 

Just when Levi began to think they were going to walk around the building the rest of the day, Leekie shut up about the Lab’s accomplishments and stopped at a metal door. “This is where we’ll be working for the next several hours. I’m afraid once you’re inside, you will not be able to leave until the testing is over.”

“What’s the test—” But Leekie had turned the door’s handle with a loud _clang_ and firmly pushed Levi inside. Alone. 

The windowless room was hardly bigger than the bathroom at his old townhouse. Huge vents took up nearly all four walls, countless slits so small that not even a finger could fit between them. 

Levi tried the door on instinct, but of course it was locked. His heart rate picked up. “Dr. Leekie?” Maybe there was a microphone somewhere or a surveillance camera at the very least. Nothing but the vents. All the ceiling had was a plain fluorescent beam. 

Was this some kind of gas chamber? Levi’s mind raced as quickly as his heart. They wouldn’t kill him off so soon, would they? Weren’t there laws about disclosing the nature of an experiment? Hanji always did, each and every time he came in.

There was nothing for Levi to do but stand around. He didn’t have a watch, but he stood long enough to be uncomfortable. So he sat, and he waited. Maybe they were getting the experiment ready. Maybe this was some kind of quarantine.

More time passed and eventually Levi realized the room was colder. “Ah, hell.”

Once he did, the temperature seemed to drop a degree every second. Levi huddled in a corner, but his back was against one of the freezing vents. He could see white trails escaping from the slits. It got colder and colder, and Levi began to walk in small circles, rubbing his arms. He wore no jacket, no sweater, thin pants. Not caring about microphones, Levi cursed everything, himself most of all. Although he was careful not to say anything damning just in case. What the hell was the point of making him cold? 

Every minute Levi told himself it couldn’t get colder. Then it did. Levi could easily see his breath and the goosebumps covering over his body. He started doing jumping jacks, but his strength quickly drained away. The shivering became uncontrollable. He stopped thinking about the Core Lab and Leekie and Fisk completely; he could only think of the cold. Then hardly that. 

He started losing feeling in his hands and feet. He shivered so violently it hurt, but the pain was nothing in comparison to the blistering cold coming from the vents. He sat in the center of the tiny room when he couldn’t feel his feet. He waited for his skin to crack and bleed, but that didn’t happen, at least. 

His thoughts were a blur, and soon he couldn’t find the energy to even curse. His heart…it felt too large in his chest, too sluggish. His eyes closed.

And opened to fire. 

Or Levi thought there was fire, since he was so hot. Once he oriented himself—this room, the Lab—he registered that the vents around him were pouring out air so hot he felt suffocated. Levi’s head was swimming, and he started to sweat so badly he felt as if he were swimming too. He tried the door again, but the handle was so hot he burned his hand. 

“ _Fuck!_ ” Levi screamed. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” He fell to his knees, holding his hand. He couldn’t tell if the liquid pouring down his face was sweat or tears. 

How long had it been? Desperate panic began to set in. “ _Let me out!_ ” Levi cried out, but even as he said the words he somehow knew they were pointless. Pointless to ask for help. 

He was so hot. His clothes clung to him, and Levi took his shirt off, then his shoes and socks. The floor was hot, too, but not enough to burn. He kept feeling the urge to escape into one corner, but they were all taken up by the metal of the vents that were undoubtedly just as hot as the door. 

He wanted the cold back more than he wanted anything in his life. Had there even been cold? Or was that a hallucination? Levi couldn’t remember what cold was like. Any strength remaining drained out through his pores and Levi lay on the ground in the center of the room, feeling so panicked, so paralyzed. He had no idea how much time passed before he blacked out again.

The next time Levi woke, there was a bottle of water waiting for him. He snatched it and drank it all. Only when it was gone and he was still thirsty did he remember where he was. The temperature had stabilized. Levi looked to the door, then to his bright red hand. He was too afraid to try again. His shaking now had nothing to do with hot or cold. 

Levi tried to process the insanity that was happening. Was he being tortured? He felt tortured. Maybe everything said about testing had been a ruse, and this was the brutal end for him. 

When the vents started pouring out water, all thoughts came to a screeching halt. Levi’s first instinct was to drink, but when he smelled salt, he thought better of it. He tried the door again, which was still warm. Nothing. 

“Oh, god,” he said, trying to quell the panic threatening to overwhelm him again. “Help me.”

The water filled the room at a remarkable speed. Soon it was up to his knees. Levi drenched himself trying to get a grip on the vents, but they didn’t have the slightest bit of give. “Oh, god, help me,” he whispered to nothing. “Help me.” 

Levi went back to the door, if only to lean against a surface that wasn’t gushing water. He banged on it a few times weakly, then two times more, as hard as he could. “Let me out!” he shouted in a rough voice. He pressed his ear up to the door, but he couldn’t hear anything but the rushing water around him, rushing blood inside. “Fuck all of you,” he muttered. 

If this was a test, there had to be a way out. Levi heaved one leg up, balancing one foot on the door handle and gripping to the top of the doorframe. He ran his hand along the top of the door, but it was smooth, empty. He banged on the walls, but they were solid rock. 

Levi turned to jump down, but the water level had already reached above the handle. Levi glanced around the room, but there was nothing hidden, no suspicious cracks, nothing weak. He had only tried to pull at one of the four huge vents, but he didn’t want to waste energy on what was almost certainly a lost cause. He had barely any energy to waste.

“What am I supposed to do?” Levi asked the door. What kind of test was this? Survival? Endurance? Cleverness? Was there some screw on the bottom of a vent that was a goddamn button to safety? The water reached two-thirds up the door, and Levi couldn’t hold his awkward position standing on the door handle any longer, not without shoes. He slipped down into the water.

He made the mistake of opening his eyes, and the high concentration of salt burned like a bitch, if not quite as bad as his hand had. Levi pushed off the floor and reached the surface. There was nothing to hold onto, and his energy ran out more quickly than before. 

Without any other ideas, he tried to stand back up on the door handle, but he kept slipping off. The water kept rising until all that was dry was the florescent light. Levi decided that since he’d burned his hand once already, he might as well risk burning it again. He grabbed onto the short, exposed beam. While it was an awkward hold, the light wasn’t hot in the slightest. Levi was too confused and panicked to be relieved. He tried to readjust his hands as his legs failed to keep him afloat, but they were slippery and he fell back down in the water.

The need to breathe was excruciating, and that was the only reason Levi was able to find the will to struggle his way up to the surface again and grab onto the light. He sucked in a breath, then another. His hands ached from holding on to what could barely qualify as grip at all. He felt himself slipping again, and with grunt he grabbed on again before his fatigued body could fail him completely. He grabbed too hard, and the whole beam came down, the light going out. 

Levi had never known such complete darkness. He immediately lost his bearings, swimming frantically around for the surface. He forced himself to go still for a second, testing to see which way he floated. Hoping it was up, Levi swam that way, the beam still tight in his grip. 

He found the surface, but there wasn’t much of it. There must have been less than three inches between the water and the ceiling. Levi kept swimming, somehow keeping his mouth above the water. 

_Help me._

Levi didn’t think; he just followed his instincts. With the fluorescent beam finally in a firm grip, he stabbed at the ceiling. He had no idea if it did any damage, not with water splashing loudly over his ears and darkness. Over and over he attacked the solid surface above him from beneath the watery surface he was now holding his breath in. At some point, the beam was knocked out of his hand and Levi failed to recover it in the dark. There was no where left to breathe. Nothing left to do but hold his breath and try not to lose air from crying.

At least there was finally silence. Nothing to hear, nothing to see, nothing to feel but the water surrounding his body like a mould. 

Somewhere very far away, he heard a click. 

Must be the door, Levi thought. I should go answer it. 

He found a wall and the door. Lucky first try, he thought. He found the handle. It was locked. 

Instead of devastation or fear, Levi felt nothing. His mind went blank. There was another click. Then another, then another. Levi ignored his desperate need for breath and pushed off the wall to the opposite one. He heard a loud grating noise. Levi felt along the slits of the vent and felt them vibrate. The grating continued. Behind his eyelids, Levi noticed a hint of change from total darkness, a stream of something bright dashing across his vision. He opened his eyes, and there was light coming through the slits. With one weak push, the vent collapsed out, and Levi with it. 

  


He woke up a fourth time in a bed more comfortable than the one in his townhouse, but not quite as comfortable as the one his new apartment had come stocked with. Levi opened his eyes. The lights were dim. At least half a dozen empty beds lay between him and the window, which had its curtains drawn closed. 

Levi was aware that while his mind was tired, his body was okay. He would take what he could get. He flung his legs out of bed, letting the grey blanket fall to the floor. He was dizzy, but his legs were strong. He walked to the only door in sight. Ran. 

He reached for the knob.

Levi was wrong. His body was not okay, his legs were not strong. They collapsed under him as his heart lurched painfully in his chest. He gasped for air and reached to turn the knob from the floor, his hands immediately sweaty and slippery. It was, unsurprisingly, locked.

It finally opened, but not by his own hands. Levi looked up at Dr. Leekie. The doctor stared at him a moment, then closed the door. He held a clipboard in one hand and offered the other. Levi didn’t move. 

“I didn’t expect you to be up yet. Sorry about this door here, it only unlocks from the inside with a keycard.”

Levi slowly got to his feet. He couldn’t find any words to say. He tried to remember how to speak. 

“Don’t worry, your brain and body are unharmed. Just a little weak. It’s a brutal first test, I know. But mandatory.”

Levi found his voice, but it was almost inaudible. “Why.”

“Several reasons. I needed to know the extent of your ability to handle stress, for one. I measured over fifty vital and non-vital signs to understand how your body reacted and what your body could endure, which was a first priority better gotten out of the way. And another thing: I needed you to understand from experience the consequences of breaking any of your contracts.”

Their eyes met. Aldous Leekie’s eyes were not mean, not evil, just…a doctor’s. A scientist’s. An employee of Fisk Incorporated.

“I understand,” Levi said.

Leekie’s eyebrows rose. “Good. Excellent. You’re already exceeding expectations. Most of the other clones didn’t recover too well from that first step.”

Levi glanced at the other empty, perfectly made beds. Then his own, with the blankets strewn halfway on the floor. “How many?”

“That’s classified, but I’ll give you a hint: It wasn’t one or two.” He chuckled his same chuckle, though this time it sounded mechanical. “None of the others came close do your results.” His expression turned pondering. “Like photocopies are never quite the same quality as an original drawing. Once you have the original copy, it’s easy to see where details are inferior…”

Levi looked for a clock, but the only guide was the lack of sunlight at the edges of the curtains. “What time is it?” he asked.

“Nine-fifteen. You’re welcome to—”

“I have to go.” 

“Do you?”

“Sorry, Dr. Leekie, but if I’m free to go, I’d like to go.” Worried about sounding too eager. “I’ll be here Thursday.” 

Leekie’s smile was as blinding as ever. “Alright, I understand. Although, I won’t condone you driving while you’re so weak, let me call a—” 

“I’ll be fine, no need.” Levi reached for the knob but stopped halfway on instinct. Leekie chuckled again and waved his card above the knob, where the wood was identical to the rest of the door. He opened the door for Levi and gestured out. Levi began down the hall before he realized he had no idea where he was going. 

“I’ll lead you out,” Leekie said. 

A stray notion wandered across Levi’s mind as left through the front doors of the Core Lab: Was everything about this place was meant to deter escape, or was it just him? 

No. At least one other ‘him’ must have thought the same thing before.


	6. Chapter 6

Levi stopped on the side of the highway halfway between the Lab and downtown. Leekie was right that he wasn’t in any shape to drive, especially not at night, but he had to get away. He wanted to get home, to Mikasa and Erwin, but his hands were shaking again, and gripping the steering wheel too tight wasn’t helping him stay between the white lines. 

He read text after text on his phone. Cameron asking how the first day went. Hanji asking the same thing, with a greater excess of characters—Cameron must have told her. Then there was Erwin’s texts, careful neutrality diminishing with each message. The last one was simply: _Call me_. 

Levi went to do just that, but he hesitated. 

_I needed you to understand from experience the consequences of breaking any of your contracts_.

And what would Erwin do if he knew what Levi just experienced at the mysterious Core Lab? Would he do anything? Was there anything _to_ do? 

He called, and Erwin answered on the first ring. “Hey, are you okay? What—Where are you?”

“It was…a long day,” Levi said. “Tiring. I thought I could make the drive home, but…” Then Levi remembered that Erwin couldn’t exactly pick him up without dragging Mikasa out of bed.

He had an idea. “Could you just stay on the phone and talk about something random so I can stay awake?” His body felt alright. Leekie hadn’t been lying when he said there wouldn’t be lasting damage. Now if he could just shove what happened to the back of his mind and never think about it again for as long as he lived.

“Sure,” Erwin said, sounding the opposite of sure. “Uh…Have any ideas?”

Levi pulled out of the parking lot and blurted the first thing that came to mind. “Summer. What do you do in the summer?”

“Well I’m working most of the—”

“No, no work, _”_ Levi said, keeping his eyes carefully on the road. Remembering to breath normally. “I meant like vacation.” 

“Oh, uh. Vacation, um…” Erwin fumbled. Levi wanted to smile at Erwin’s bout of inarticulateness, but his face was likely still partially paralyzed in some form of shock. “I used to go to the beach with Daniel some week in July when we were at Princeton. But these last few Summers I’ve just been taking long weekends. ”

“What do you do?” 

“Sometimes I drive down to the beach for a weekend. Every other year or so, I’ll do a three-day singles cruise for fun.”

“Fun? How is that fun?”

“Daniel and Cameron make it fun since they make friends easily. People are willing to let me hang around.” 

Levi let out a weak laugh. “I bet they’re more than _willing_.”

“Yes, sometimes I even make friends.” 

“That’s not—” Levi made a frustrated sound. “And you tell me to give myself more credit. Your humility is getting old.” 

“I don’t—one second.” There was some unintelligible talking on the other end, then Erwin said, “Mi—I needed some water. Ice maker’s not working again.”

Just the reminder of her made Levi stop breathing. And not breathing reminded him of drowning. And downing reminded him of darkness.

“Levi?” 

And he felt the soreness in his arm from hopelessly bashing the ceiling, hoping something would give.  

_Help me._

“Levi, are you there?”

“Yeah,” he said. Focus on the road.  Focus on his voice. Focus on the road. “Keep talking. Anything. Go.” 

“Did you date after…your last girlfriend?” Erwin’s tone was odd. He tacked on, “Since were talking about singles and all.”

“No, I got busy with work.” No, not that word. “Hey, can we not talk about me, either? I want to talk about you. What’s your history with girlfriends?” 

There was a pause on the other end. “Had one in high school, couple in college. Nothing serious.” 

Levi nodded at no one and scrambled for something else to say. “I have a question.”

“Ask away.”

“Why aren’t you, uh, interested in Daniel? I mean, I remember what you told me about him liking you and you not…well, was he just not…?” Did he sound as pathetic over the phone as he did to his own ears? Oh well, distraction was distraction, no matter how dumb.

“Not what?”

“Never mind. I should go, I’m feeling better now.” His flat tone wasn’t very convincing.

“Wait, you aren't going to your apartment, are you?”

“Yeah…”

“Are you sure? That you want to be alone?”

Levi thought about it. He tried to think, anyway. There was too much to to think about and too little brain power to do it. “I dunno…I guess so.”

“Levi, you don’t sound right. Why don’t you come over for a few hours?”

“I…okay.”

  


Erwin gave up asking Levi what happened not long after Levi knocked on the door. Levi must not have gotten much sleep in the bed at the Core Lab, because he passed out the second he sat on the couch. 

He woke up in the guest bedroom. Sunlight was just beginning to stream in through the window. His phone started vibrating on the dresser.

“Shit,” he whispered, darting out of bed to silence it—Hanji.

“Daddy?”

Levi turned around and sat up against the headboard. “Hey, Mickey.” He sat down at the entrance of the fort. “I’m sorry I woke you up.” 

Mikasa said nothing more, just climbed sleepily into Levi’s bed and fell asleep against his chest. This works, he thought. It felt incredible to have her in his arms again. He had forgotten what it felt like until now. It was even cathartic enough for his eyes to water just a little. 

As he sat, eyes closed, he could almost pretend everything that happened yesterday was a dream. It was as absurd as one, after all. Would Erwin even believe him if he told him?

Levi was half-asleep when he heard a soft knock. Mikasa was still light enough for him to carry. Levi opened the door. “School, right.” The clock said they slept in. 

“I can—”

“No, I can wake her up, thanks.” Levi shut the door again and woke Mikasa, helping her pick out something to wear and get her backpack together. He went with her to meet Erwin in the living room. “She’ll have to eat on the road…”

“Already got something. I’ll be back in forty minutes.”

“Don’t you go to work right after?”

“I’m taking a half day to go to one of Daniel’s more important presentations at the school. But that’s not until later. I was hoping you’d tell me…” 

“I’ll be here.” A dream. It really did just feel like a dream.

Not five minutes after Mikasa and Erwin left out the front, Levi got a call from an unidentified number.

“Mr. Ackerman, it’s Mark Rollins. There are several things for us to go over before you return to the Core Lab this Thursday. I’m free tomorrow. What time is best for you?”

“Uh, mornings, I guess.”

“Does eight-forty at Headquarters work?”

Levi agreed and Rollins hung up with no more than, “The secretary will direct you to my office.” 

He sighed. He should have known a two-day workweek was too good to be true. But a boring follow-up meeting was better than…

He needed to stop thinking about it. He wasn’t like he could quit now, right? Levi’s heart beat faster every time his mind strayed to yesterday. Maybe it would be best if he didn’t necessarily forget it, rather, just make it out as a “no harm done” thing, like Leekie did. 

Levi decided to take a shower. The second he turned on the water, he slammed it off again. “Fuck.” 

He couldn’t make himself turn it back on. Frustrated, Levi took out a cloth and bathed in the sink the old-fashioned way. 

It took him a while, but Levi returned to the bedroom, dressed, and looked at himself in the mirror above the dresser. He didn’t look any different. Levi remembered his hand—it was barely pink. Impossible. 

Just then, the air-conditioning kicked in loudly, and Levi nearly jumped out of his skin. “God. Damn. Everything!” He rubbed his eyes and pretended the vent on the bedroom ceiling didn’t exist. “Ridiculous.” 

Finally things started feeling normal again as he ate his same breakfast at the same table in a room he liked very much. But once he finished, there was nothing for him to do but wait until tomorrow’s meeting. And call Hanji back. He sat on one end of the couch and dialed. 

“Hey, you called—”

“Levi, hello, I just had one quick question. Have you heard from Wayne recently? You know, Wayne Valentine?” 

“Uh, no.” 

“Really? So you don’t happen to know where he is?” 

“No, I don’t.” 

“Alright. Well, that’s all I had. How was your—”

“I gotta go, sorry, Hanji.” 

“Oh, bye!”

Levi hung up just as the door opened. 

“Traffic was bad,” Erwin said. “But we got there just in time.”

Levi rested one arm on the top of the couch, his eyes following Erwin as he set down his keys and took off his shoes. Levi sighed. Nearly an hour and he hadn’t even thought about what he was going to say. 

Erwin sat at the other side of the couch and met Levi’s stare. Levi looked away, at the window, at the wall, anything. 

“I changed my mind,” Erwin said. “You don’t have to tell me anything. You shouldn’t feel like you have to.”

What to tell him? All of it? None of it? “There were tests, like Dr. Leekie said there would be,” Levi said. “Actually, more like a lot of tests within one test.”

Erwin waited.

“And it wasn’t what I expected.” Maybe he couldn’t do this. Not now. His heart was already beating too fast again. His hands were beginning to sweat.

“Worse than expected?”

Levi hummed. “Yeah, worse than expected.” Was the air-conditioning always so loud? It was as if Levi had a sixth sense, feeling the presence of every vent in the room. The cool air.

The freezing cold.

“How much worse?” And he could acutely feel the warmth coming off the windows. 

The boiling hot.

“I keep wondering…” Levi said in a quiet voice. “Wondering if I lived because I passed or if they were going to let me live even if I failed. I don’t even know if there was anything to pass. If it was that kind of test at all. But it doesn’t matter, I guess.”

The salty, stinging water rising higher and higher.

Erwin’s expression had become more concerned with every word, and now there was horror in his eyes. “Wait, wait—what are you talking about? What did they do to you?”

Holding on for life.

Erwin’s voice sounded far away. Levi forced himself to speak. “They put me through…extreme conditions to test my body’s limits…That’s it.” His eyelids were heavy as he blinked at the carpet. How tired he had been. 

Darkness.

“That’s it? Levi—”

Drowning.

Levi’s breathing became erratic, and his hands flew up to his throat. His skin tingled, the air felt thick, and Levi felt like he was in the water again. He was wet, his hair was wet, his hands were wet. His face was wet, with sweat or tears? Sweat or tears? 

“Help me,” he choked. He couldn’t breathe.

The voice was still distant. Like the click in the water. “Levi! Open your eyes!” 

Weren’t they open? All he saw was darkness. They stung in the salt water. He needed air. He needed to find the surface, but he was sinking. Levi pushed himself up in one direction to find the surface, but his shins hit against something hard, and he fell forward. 

His eyes snapped open, and there was light. Where was he? A couch? Confusion overwhelmed him as something blocked his vision and pulled him up, back onto the couch. 

“Breathe, breathe, please breathe. Levi? What’s going on?”

There was a dry hand on his throat, and Levi realized that there was no water. He could breathe in, out, in…it was still hard, even without water to drown him.

Then Levi noticed Erwin was right beside him. Without thinking, he lurched forward and held on for life. 

“I thought I was going to die,” Levi cried softly. Sweat and tears. “I was trapped in a room. Drowning. There was nowhere to go. There wasn’t anything I could do.” The harder he cried, the harder it was to keep his eyes from closing. He didn’t want to close them ever again. “There was just pain and I couldn’t do anything.” He sobbed silently, letting out what he had held back since last night at nine-fifteen.

“You’re in my apartment now, Levi,” Erwin finally said. “Listen to me. In my living room, on my couch, and I’m right here. Mikasa’s room is down the hall, and she’s at school. She’s safe. We’re safe. Keep breathing, Levi. Focus on that. Only that.” 

He would if he could just stop shaking. “I’m sorry.”

“No, Levi…”

“I’m sorry.” He couldn’t stop himself from saying it. It was as uncontrollable as the crying. “I’m sorry.”

  


><><><

  


Watching kids television shows, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in particular, had been a tradition since the day Mikasa was first dropped off at Levi’s house. Mikasa said she watched them all the time with her mom, so Levi agreed to watch it with her too. But at some point, Erwin must have accidentally introduced Spongebob Squarepants to her, because that became her new favorite show by the summer came around. She watched those in the mornings, then head off to the camp of the week. She was enrolled in science and art and sports camps (none of them sleepaway) and she seemed to love every one. 

To Levi, little was different, since Erwin left in the mornings to drop her off and stayed gone most of the day for work with Hanji, or to help Daniel with graduate research, or to do less savory research with Cameron—trying to connect the dots Levi supplied them with after every visit to the Core Lab. 

His meeting with young and creepy Mark Rollins following his first traumatic visit shed a small candle flame on what was going on. “Remember the liquid agents mentioned at the preliminary meeting, Mr. Ackerman? Dr. Leekie needed to confirm that the perfected formulas would not be too strong for your body to handle. Luckily, your test results show that you just might be the best subject for the agents we’ve had yet. What’s not so luckily is that—as you might also remember from our first meeting—those perfected formulas still haven’t arrived. But that’s not a problem for you; we’ll just have to test you with the incomplete formulas readily available at the lab.”

Levi was not told what the liquid agents _were_ exactly, until later. Three weeks later, to be precise: three weeks of simply being put under all day and having them be injected into him one a time to test his unconscious reactions. At least that’s what Leekie said he was doing, and Levi would just have to trust he wasn’t spewing bullshit to keep him ignorant. 

Even if Leekie was doing something far worse than observing his reactions while he slept, Levi was grateful he was at least asleep for it. All he did afterward was wake up and go home with strict instructions not to eat this or to sleep for this long or go without drinking X hours before returning to the Core Lab. Once he had been told not to sleep 24 hours beforehand, and one of Leekie’s assistants was directed to pick him up at his apartment so he wouldn’t kill himself driving over half asleep. 

After each day at the Core Lab, Mark would call him and set up a meeting, and he would go through extensive questioning about anything and everything. Sometimes it had to do with the testing the day before, sometimes it had to do with his past, sometimes it was something completely different. Once, Mark had given him a three hour psychological test, then told to go home and rest for five hours, then return for the exact same test. Levi’s questions about the purpose of it, or any of the other odd meetings he had with Mark Rollins, were not always answered. 

In fact, the only thing Mark seemed to be “authorized” to talk about were the special liquid agents he had been injected with all these weeks. “This is because you will need to be intimately familiar with their effects soon enough,” Mark explained. “It’s only sensible you know what’s going to be surgically introduced into your reproductive system in due time.” 

“My _what?_ ”

“Your _what?_ ” Cameron asked. 

Levi, Erwin, and Cameron were sitting around Levi’s kitchen table. It was a Saturday, late in the afternoon. Mikasa was at the house of someone she met at her last camp. These meetings with Cameron had also become a tradition, with sub sandwiches and soda and lots of conspiracy theories. Today, pouring rain was added to the mix. 

“That’s what they told me. Didn’t say why, though, and I was too shocked to ask.”

“I don’t blame you!” Cameron said. “I want to know what the hell these concoctions do already. They still haven’t told you?” 

“If they have, it was probably scientific jargon that went over my head.” 

“If they want you to be familiar with them,” Erwin said, “they’ll have to explain them to you sooner or later.” Erwin expression was as dark as the sky outside. “What seems odd to me is that they’ve mentioned more than once now that the perfected agents haven’t arrived from wherever they were created. Why bother testing the incomplete formulas on you if they can just wait until those come in?”

Levi shrugged. “Maybe the hold up is a bigger problem than they want to admit.”

“Maybe.” Cameron leaned back and crossed his arms. “Or maybe they aren’t perfected at all, and the developers are just too scared to tell Fisk.”

“Leekie said the next time I went in, I wouldn’t be put under. So I should see at what one of them does soon enough.” 

Cameron looked deep in thought, his long hair spilling over his shoulder as he steepled his hands in front of him. “If you’re not going to be put under, you won’t be as out of it when you leave. Try to remember whatever you can on your way out. Nameplates, door signs, hell, anything that looks like language. I’m trying to hack into Fisk’s budget database since it’s not so heavily encrypted.”

At Levi’s blank expression, Erwin said, “Wilson Fisk is famous for his disinterest in handling money.”

“Because he doesn’t need to be,” Cameron said, shaking his head. “They release their budget to the public because they have to, but there’s never been anything on “cloning projects” so we know it’s all lies. If we find the real one, euphemism-free, maybe we can get some ideas of what the corporation’s true interests are. Maybe even where it’s vulnerable.”

“I don’t know what more I can tell you about the Core Lab,” Levi said. “How could door signs help you hack into their budget?” 

“ _People_. If we can hack into personal accounts, we can hack into bigger ones. We just need to get lucky and find someone with the right clearance.”

“Our theory,” Erwin added, “Is that there are employees at the Core Lab not in the usual databases that lead us to the information we want.”

Levi let out a long-suffering sigh. It was all so convoluted. “Alright.” Cameron looked encouraged, or at least invigorated, but Erwin still looked apprehensive. “What?” Levi asked.

Erwin just shook his head. “Cameron and I should go soon. Hanji was in a bad mood this morning and I was thinking about checking in with her.”

A pause. “Shit.” Cameron stood up and raked one hand through his hair. “That’s probably because I forgot to go in this morning to give her skin samples.” He hardly said goodbye before slamming the door behind himself.

Erwin and Levi exchanged a look. “You knew he forgot, didn't you.” Levi said.

“I wanted him to leave.”

“Huh? Why?”

Erwin stood up more slowly than Cameron had and looked out the kitchen window. “I think he enjoys this too much. Plotting to undermine the corporation—Fisk, now that he’s certain he’s involved. Cameron and Daniel like to joke about being twins to people, but Cameron truly considers himself Daniel's brother. Not biological, but in every that matters. And he’s a protective brother. Cameron will do anything to keep Fisk from ever using either of them for something horrible. But he doesn't understand…”

“He doesn't understand what?”

“That we may be putting more at risk than undermining Fisk is worth.”

“You mean you think everything you two are doing is pointless?”

Erwin glanced over at him, his expression conflicted. “I didn't before, when we weren't doing much other than peeking at whatever company secrets we could get our hands on without risking anything.”

“But now?”

“But now there's you. Now, we have an inside man to the other facets of the clone project we shouldn't know a thing about—someone who isn’t disposable like Tanaka or Golubev. Now, we actually have a shot at figuring out what Fisk's endgame is and figuring out how to really _end_ it.”

“Well, isn't that a good thing?”

“No, because it means letting Fisk and his henchmen have their way with you until you’re either dead or useless while we cluelessly scramble around trying to shut down their operation. Cameron doesn't understand—none of the others understand—that this investigation isn't worth what you're going though. _They_ would want it all called off if they were in your position. But since they’re not, they don’t mind if you serve as the sacrificial lamb they need.”

Levi wanted to tell him that they couldn't exactly blame the others for what they weren't willing to tell them. Instead he replied, “Of course it's worth it.”

Erwin gave him a confused look, and Levi let out a noise of disbelief. “First of all, I’m not a lamb. Second, anything's worth being able to go outside with my daughter without worrying she'll be hauled away to some lab for who the hell knows what.”

“But if Fisk finds out you’re not on his side before his project is shut down—if it is at all—you’ll never see Mikasa again.” With a stony face, Erwin let that sink in. Then his the anger fell away. “What if these so-called ‘agents’ have serious side-effects? What if you die in a freak accident?”

“I’ve already tested me with the stupid agents half a dozen times,” Levi said in an impatient tone. “That’s all Leekie’s done for the past three weeks.”

“So he’s ‘Leekie’ now.” Erwin moved to living room window, where there was a bigger, better view of the city. “I heard you call him that earlier.”

Levi rolled his eyes. “Who cares? He calls me ‘Levi’ now, what was I supposed to do? I have to play it cool with them all the time or else they’ll start to suspect this isn’t just a great salary and a few weird assignments to me.”

Thunder cracked somewhere in the distance. 

“I don’t want this hanging over my head the rest of my life, Erwin. I want Mikasa to have a normal life eventually.”

“She does have a normal life.” But Erwin wouldn’t meet his eyes when he said it.

“Yeah, for how long?” Levi stood and walked over to him. “She’s not going to believe I’m some spy forever.” 

“Then we’ll tell her the truth,” Erwin sighed. “I told you before. We’ll deal with that when she’s older. Circumstances may change.”

“Well now you’re telling me you don’t want them to change,” Levi said. He watched a web of lightning flash from cloud to cloud. A rip of thunder followed. “You just said that maybe you don’t want to shut down Fisk’s clone project—that’s killed at least two people, most likely more—after all.”

“I _do_ want to, Levi. I just don’t know if we should do it while you’re in such a risky situation. Maybe in the future—”

“So _what?_ ” Levi’s hands fisted. “You told me you’re in this for Daniel because you feel like you owe him, and you want to protect him. That makes sense. So don’t throw all that away because now you feel like you owe me. That doesn’t make sense. I owe _you_.” Levi brought one hand to his temple for a moment, closing his eyes, trying to speak without losing his temper. Then he looked Erwin in the eye. “Listen, I owe Mikasa for damning her relationship with me, but it’s not just our relationship that matters. I need to do whatever I can to stop all this for the sake of her safety, and as long as Fisk’s project is growing, she’s going to be in more danger whether I’m alive or not.”

Erwin looked as angry as he did. Levi could see it in his eyes and the set of his mouth. “I thought it was pretty obvious I wasn’t only doing this for Daniel anymore.” When Levi tried to look away, Erwin took a step forward, demanding his attention. “It’s ultimately your decision to sacrifice yourself for this, Levi, but I want you to think about something.”

“What?” Levi snapped. 

“Say we succeed at taking down Fisk, but not the corporation. Everyone on our side survives, but we decide we’ve made enough progress by delaying any more sinister projects for the time being. Imagine years go by, and Mikasa, a grown woman able to make her own decisions, finds out the truth about what really happened. Say she discovers that the project is back in full effect without Fisk, and she and decides to be like you and to ‘donate’ herself as a clone’s daughter to the other side’s cause, to take down the company from the inside once and for all. You know from experience there’s a perfectly good chance she’ll be experimented on, probed, dissected, even tortured if some ‘test’ necessitates it. You tell her not to do it. You tell you that her sacrifice won’t be enough in the long run, so it isn’t worth the trauma she’ll go through. But she just tells you ‘So what?’ She’s willing to die for the cause to save her father from more experiments, save her friends, save humanity from whatever the corporation’s planning. What would you say to that? What would you say to her if she she told you her death didn’t matter?” 

Levi’s hands went limp. “I—I wouldn’t let her because Mikasa is my only family. She’s means everything to me.” He shook his head. “This situation isn’t the same.”

Erwin stared at him like he was missing the most obvious thing in the world. “This situation is exactly the same, Levi,” he whispered.

Any reply died on Levi’s tongue. His brow furrowed as he frowned. He couldn’t speak. 

“Have you ever heard me talk about family?” Erwin asked. “No, because you and Mikasa are my family. The only one I’ve had in a long time.” He looked out the window again, and a pained expression came over his face. Then he turned and sat down heavily on the couch, and Levi followed, hesitantly. 

“When I started thinking about ways to protect Mikasa,” Erwin said, “I immediately thought of several people who would have been willing to foster her and be a better parent than I ever could be. They were trustworthy people who lived just far enough away where her last name wouldn’t matter and no one we knew would run into her. You could get her back whenever things got better.”

Erwin paused. “But I didn’t tell you about any of them, because I was selfish. I wanted to the one protecting her personally, because just as much as I wanted to protect her,” his eyes met Levi’s eyes again. “I wanted to protect _you_. And I thought the only way you would let me protect you was to protect Mikasa, too.” He closed his eyes. “Flawed logic, I know. All I was doing was putting happiness before safety, for all of us.” 

Levi stared at him and chose his words carefully. “Do you regret offering?”

Erwin’s head whipped around. “No! No, of course not. I just regret being arrogant enough to think I could actually…” He trailed off. “Even if no one ever finds out about Mikasa, I can’t forgive myself for loosing sight of her best interests because I wanted to be closer to you.”

Levi had felt this shocked before, but never for a good reason. Finally, the pattern had broken.

“I accepted your offer to adopt her becauseit was you offering, you know,” Levi said. “I would have never agreed to someone else. Fostering or otherwise. I’m too selfish, like you. Even if someone else would have been better, I wouldn’t have trusted them. And if I couldn’t trust them, well.” 

Erwin’s expression turned longing. “I understand. I’m not sure I did to get you to trust me so much, but I’m grateful for it. And I disagree about you being selfish. You’re by far the most selfless person I’ve ever meant.” 

Levi felt his face heat up. “Whatever. If you wanted to be closer to me, you could have just asked me out. Adopting my kid is a little over the top, don’t you think?” 

Erwin was definitely blushing as he laughed. “Got me there.”

When Erwin didn’t say anything else, Levi started to doubt himself. “Why don’t you?” 

Erwin looked up. “What?” 

“Why don’t you ask me out? You can’t honestly think I’m completely straight after all this.” Levi spoke too quickly. “What straight man in the universe would allow another man to be their daughter’s ‘pretend dad’? Or hang out all the time with another man, just the two of them, never once watching sports? What straight guy would be able to convince the CEO of Fisk Incorporated and his top scientist that he’s gay?” Levi glanced down at his feet and took a breath. “Sorry. I—I can’t expect you to know what I didn’t even know until recently.” 

“What was recently?” Erwin asked. His tone was neutral, but his eyes were wide with hope. 

“Semen test.” Levi scoffed at himself. “Didn’t go the way I planned.”

“Oh.” 

“Yeah.” 

“Well…” 

“Well what.” 

“I do want to ask you out,” Erwin said, blushing again. “But I don’t want you to have something else to think about. You have enough on your plate.” His voice was light, respectful, if a little constrained.

“You’re probably right. We probably shouldn’t make our lives any more complicated than they are.” 

“Right.” 

“But…” Levi rubbed his hands together, which had become a little sweaty. “Would it uh, make our lives too complicated if…” 

Erwin was looking at him. Levin was looking back. Both of them were waiting. 

“There’s something that I wanted to try,” Levi said. Both of them understood.

Erwin’s eyes were still slightly wide, as if he were struggling to take everything in. “Go ahead.”

With some hesitation, Levi turned to face Erwin fully and shifted closer to him. Then he brought his hands to Erwin’s face and leaned in, closing his eyes just as their lips touched. It was a simple kiss. Short and delicate. When it was over, Levi shifted back and stood up, shoving his hands in his pockets and nodding for no reason. “Okay. So um, consider it a thank you?”

Erwin didn’t look disgusted, so that was a good sign. “Uh…you’re welcome.” His voice was a little off, too low. Erwin rubbed the back of his neck as he stood as well. “I should let you get some sleep. Good luck tomorrow, at the lab.” He walked over to the door and opened it. 

“Right, yeah. Thanks.” 

They stared at each other too long. Levi knew for a fact that Erwin wanted to kiss him again just as much as he wanted to kiss Erwin. But they didn’t. Erwin left, and Levi didn’t get much sleep at all. 

  


><><><

  


When Mark Rollins told him he would be personally driving Levi to a different location—on a Monday—Levi knew it wasn’t going to be a good day. 

The car was most likely a company car, as sterile and new as the corporate labs, but when Levi got on the passenger side, Mark looked unkept and haggard. Minutes passed in silence as Mark drove. Levi took advantage of the rapport they’d built over the past few weeks to get answers. 

“Long weekend?” 

“Yes,” Mark gritted out. “There’s been a change in plans. We’re heading to Mr. Fisk’s estate to show him the effects of the recreated formula.”

“Recreated? You mean…” 

“The original agents were lost,” Mark said. “And they aren’t recoverable now. Mr. Fisk told us to make do with the resources available, and today is the due date for the final product. The agents that we were _supposed_ to have you acclimated to by now werestolenby the little Underground fuckers and we had to start over.” For the first time, he sounded his age. “But Fisk doesn’t _care_ what happened, as long as he gets a final product by tonight.” 

Who? Levi had a feeling he shouldn’t ask. “What do you need me for, exactly?”

Mark glanced over. “Well obviously the final product is going to be used on you.”

Levi _knew_ that, but…“Mark. What do the agents do? No one’s really explai—”

“The unfortunate event,” Mark interrupted, “with the vials that were ready to be used has lead Mr. Fisk to get the idea that ‘improvisation’ would be beneficial to seeing the true nature of the effects.”

What was _that_ supposed to mean? What was going on? Mark’s expression was closed off, and Levi didn’t risk asking any more questions. 

In fact, neither of them talked much for the rest of the trip. The estate was out of the city, distinctly in suburbia territory, but the plot of land the mansion sat was so enormous it could almost be considered rural. When they reached the end of the driveway, Levi stepped out of the car to face huge, dark-stained wood doors. They opened before he even reached the first front step. 

“Mr. Rollins, Mr. Ackerman,” said the doorman. “Master Fisk is ready to see you in his office.”

_Master?_ They were guided through magnificent halls that screamed old, hereditary wealth, but the mansion had its modern influences. The subtle entertainment technology and not-so-subtle security system were clearly top of the line.

Wilson Fisk himself was at the door to what must have been the office. “Mark, good to see you.” The two shook hands, and then Fisk extended his to Levi. “And you, Levi. I apologize for going through with this on such short notice. But project staff cannot afford any extensions to deadlines this late in the process.” 

“To be honest,” Levi said, “I’m still not really clear what we’re going through with.” 

Fisk grinned. “Excellent. Just as I was hoping. Come in.” He waved them inside his office, which was as bigger than Levi’s entire new apartment. There were two seats in front of the stately black desk Fisk sat behind. Levi carefully took one, feeling even less comfortable than in his first meeting with Leekie. “I would explain everything, Mr. Ackerman, if I thought it would benefit you. And perhaps it would, but like I suggested, all my projects are on a tight schedule.” 

Fisk looked to Mark. “The new agents were delivered successfully this morning. You know how to administer them, I trust?” 

Mark nodded. Fisk opened a low drawer on his desk and took out an indestructible-looking plastic box. He opened it, revealing several short, stubby vials and a long, thin syringe, all carefully spaced and held in place by black foam. “As you can see, there are only one of each,” Fisk said. “Assuming Aldous Leekie has the formulas correct, there is more on the way. Isn’t that right, Mark?”

“Of course.” 

Levi felt his blood go cold as Mark removed one glass vial from the box along with the syringe. With well-practiced hands, Mark inserted the needle into the plastic top of the vial, and drew opaque liquid up into the shaft. 

“Remember, Levi,” Mark said, “We’re not telling you what will happen because we want you to…improvise.”

“Yes,” Fisk agreed. “After all, the clones succeeding you are meant to be born with the effects, and _they_ certainly can’t be pre-informed of what those effects may do to them. We need to prepare for the unknown.” 

There was no time to respond. Mark took his right arm and inserted the needle…

  


For a moment, Levi felt like he was drowning again, in the perfect dark, encompassed by water. For a moment, he felt as if he just woke up, still in chamber, and everything he just experienced outside of it was a fleeting dream. 

In the perfect dark, five empty vials clinked on the desk in a row, the syringe tottered next to it, and six drops of fluid quivering slightly as Fisk adjusted his arms on the desk. Levi turns his head to where Mark would be—he can smell sweat, even though there was likely no more than the slightest sheen. He smells Fisk’s cologne and the fabric softener in all their clothes, including his own. Mark’s breathing is loud, too loud, and the leather chair Levi’s in is smooth, incredibly smooth, and—

Bombarded by his other senses, it took Levi an entire half of a second to realize that when he blinked, everything remained dark. 

“It’s quiet in there. Think the short one’s dead?” said two women somewhere several rooms away in the mansion. 

“Levi?” said a much louder voice. Levi had not noticed howtired Mark sounded until now. 

“I…” He had not noticed howtired his own voice sounded. 

Levi wondered if he was feeling blood pumping in his own veins or if his heart was just beating painfully hard. Distractingly loud.

“How do you feel, Levi? Describe to us how you feel.” Wilson Fisk leaned forward at his desk—Levi could hear it. He could hear birds chirping out on the lawn. If Fisk’s cologne had been strong before, it was utterly overwhelming now. 

Levi tried to find his voice, find an explanation for what he was experiencing. How could he begin to explain that he could feel the thickness of the wooden floor beneath his feet? How could he begin to explain the horror not being able to see the floor?

“I can’t see.”

The others stopped breathing for a moment. The birds were loud. Levi blinked again and again, then again, just to be sure. “I can’t see.”


End file.
